Lawsuit over park near Vikings stadium dropped

Two former Minneapolis City Council members and a former mayoral candidate have dropped their lawsuit over the Downtown East project near the new Vikings stadium.

The $400 million development is expected to include two office towers, parking for the stadium, housing and a public park.

It's illegal for the city to help finance the purchase of land for parks because that's the domain of the park board, said Paul Ostrow, a former council president.

But Ostrow said he's dropping the lawsuit because a judge ordered him to post a $10 million bond to keep the litigation going.

"We feel that applying this kind of obligation so broadly has a chilling effect on the rights of individuals to challenge the actions of public bodies. And I think it's something the legislature should look at. And I think it's a very significant public policy issue," he said.

He's urging the city council to revisit the project.

A different lawsuit from former mayoral candidate Doug Mann has delayed the stadium's bond sale.