MINNEAPOLIS (Nov. 1, 2011) Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council President Barbara Johnson issued the following statement about the decision today by Governor Mark Dayton and legislative leaders not to exempt local governments from holding a referendum on increasing local sales taxes to finance a Vikings stadium:

We thank Governor Dayton and legislative leaders for their hard work on trying to resolve the Vikings stadium issue: if this problem were easy to solve, it would have been solved long ago.

Their decision today reinforces the fact that Minneapolis remains the best location for the Vikings, because it is the least expensive: all three stadium options that weve laid out are less expensive to build, less expensive for the team to operate and less expensive for fans than Arden Hills.

Contact: John Stiles, Communications Director, (612) 673-3665 office