Lanning urges RamCo to consider hospitality taxes for stadium
One of the chief authors of the Vikings stadium bill says Ramsey County need to come up with other options for how to pay for a new stadium. Ramsey County officials were pushing for a local option sales tax to finance the stadium but lawmakers were cool to the idea because it would have needed voter approval.
Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, says the county should be looking at other options to finance a portion of the roughly $1 billion stadium.
"Ramsey County has made clear that there will be no property tax revenues generated for this," Lanning said. "There will be no local option sales tax available but you've got other taxes, hospitality taxes and other forms of raising revenue, that local units of government can decide to put in place without a referendum requirement."
Lanning has said some form of gambling expansion will also have to be on the table but he doesn't think it will generate enough to finance the stadium. Vikings officials say the Arden Hills site in Ramsey County are their first option.
Lanning says the earliest supporters will release a bill will be January
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