Time was when the idea of moving the Minnesota Vikings out of Minneapolis and into Ramsey County would have stirred competitive hearts of partisans in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Not this year -- so far.
St. Paul, which battled its bigger twin over a World Trade Center (a win), the Twins' ballpark (a loss) and a national political convention (a win, but with pepper gas), is sitting the stadium fight out.
Minneapolis has tried to keep the team, but its mayor has also said he supports Ramsey County's efforts to build a Vikings stadium in Arden Hills. St. Paul is opposing the plan to move the Vikings from the Metrodome in Minneapolis to the old Army ammo site in Arden Hills, even though it is located in the capital city's county.
Fans of our metropolitan sibling rivalry recall when the Hiawatha light-rail project in Minneapolis moved ahead of St. Paul's Central Corridor, and when pro hockey decamped from the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington and ended up on Kellogg Boulevard in St. Paul.
Although the Vikings stadium would be in Ramsey County, of which St. Paul is the seat, it would be 10 miles from downtown St. Paul. The location is not "East Metro" enough to justify the half-cent sales tax hike that would fall heavily on St. Paul consumers, city officials say. The mayor, Chris Coleman, and all seven City Council voted this summer to oppose the tax.
But what about the benefit of sticking it to Minneapolis?
Times have changed. Kathy Lantry is a lifelong St. Paul East Sider who grew up at a time when her neighbors wouldn't be caught dead "crossing the river" into Minneapolis.
Now the president of St. Paul's City Council, she said: "People are crossing the river with abandon. People don't have the weirdness about crossing the river."
As for the location of a Vikings' stadium, she added: "Most of St. Paul is closer to Minneapolis than to Arden Hills."
Perhaps the days of bitter rivalries are over. The two cities are behind a joint economic development group called "Greater MSP," which aims to pitch the region as a whole as a good place to do business.
But there are still some stirrings on the sibling rivalry front.
In his statewide sports-facilities proposal, Coleman proposed moving the NBA Timberwolves from Target Center in Minneapolis to Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Those could be the fightin' words of the future.
Jim Ragsdale • 651-925-5042
