Vikings deal could quell concerns about barring public from Mpls. park

The state commission responsible for the new Vikings stadium approved a proposal that could help relieve concerns that a downtown Minneapolis park would be closed to the public on and around game days.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA) board voted Friday to authorize a lease with Hennepin County for a parking lot outside the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.

The 35,860-square-foot parking lot on Park Avenue would be home to a semi-permanent structure during the football season, said Vikings Executive Vice President Lester Bagley.

"That's an important property for the stadium plaza and the game day experience," Bagley said. "Hospitality, food, beverage, potentially music and a fan gathering space is what it's envisioned to be."

The new nearby park, which is being called "The Commons," attracted controversy because of a clause allowing the Vikings to limit the public's access to the park on and around game days.

Bagley said this new lot could help "relieve some of the pressure from The Commons" during events.

Minneapolis Ward 3 Council Member Jacob Frey said leasing the property is a great solution to concerns that public access to the park would be cut off.

"This takes the tents off of The Commons and puts them on a surface parking lot where nobody wants to be anyway," Frey said. "This is a gigantic win in terms of making the public space that is The Commons more accessible on a greater number of days."

The team or MSFA are still allowed to hold events in the park, although it's not yet clear how many days a year that will happen. The Minneapolis City Council asked staff last week to study the issue.

"What is the actual number of days that it's shut off to the public? Because the previous calculation accounted for having a Major League Soccer team playing at the Vikings stadium, which we all know isn't going to happen," Frey said. "It's clearly gone substantially down, but how much is the question."

The lease still needs final approval from the Hennepin County Board. It's expected to come before the board on Tuesday.

The 30-year lease coincides with the Vikings lease at the new U.S. Bank Stadium. The base rent is fixed at over $280,000 a year for the first 15 years of the lease, according to a memo from the MSFA. Rent for the remainder of the term will be adjusted based on fair market uses.

Hennepin County will have the opportunity to terminate the lease after 15 years if the county board has approved a long-term use for the property, although in that case the county would be required to reimburse the MSFA for some improvement costs.