DFL candidates
[...] John Marty: OPPOSES
"I've been very consistent on the idea that taxpayer money should not be used to subsidize private businesses."
[...]
Republican candidates
Pat Anderson: OPPOSES
"I think it's appropriate to have dialogue and I know that's what has been occurring. But the idea that we're going to spend $200 million in taxpayer money is not realistic and inappropriate. But there are other ways to achieve these goals."
She didn't specify how to pay for the stadium.
Leslie Davis: OPPOSES
"If they want to build a ballpark, they should build it with their own money."
Tom Emmer: OPPOSES
"I support a solution for a Vikings stadium but I don't think you give $700 million in taxpayer money and hand it over to a private business."
Emmer suggested a voter referendum linking funds from a new casino to pay for the stadium. He also suggested community ownership (Green Bay Packers model) or giving Wilf the Metrodome.
Bill Haas: OPPOSES
"They're holding us hostage with that situation..." "If another city comes and says hey, we'll build you a stadium, that's what will happen."
David Hann: OPPOSES
"I still don't think it's a good idea. It's a mystery to me as to why the team is pushing for public financing when everybody is financially strapped."
Phil Herwig: OPPOSES
"I, in no way, can support funding a private enterprise. It doesn't matter if it was the Vikings, the Timberwolves or XYZ company..." "Sometime we have to stop this. We can't afford it."
Marty Seifert: OPPOSES
"Other states have done this so it's not like it's a pie in the sky idea and keep in mind that with the Vikings successful season - they are filling up the dome So people say we can't be competitive in this stadium, really? The team is winning now so what's the issue?"
Seifert suggests the Vikings can rely on the marketplace (higher ticket prices, parking, etc.) and don't need public money.
MPR Audio blurbs accompany each of the Polinaut sentence summaries, and you can listen to some or all if you go to the link given at the start of the post.
All the other DFL hopefuls besides John Marty appear to be qualifying or obfuscating a bit, expressing some degree of quasi-support, or "agreeing with their friends." John Marty and the GOP block [aka the dwarfs] appear unambiguous [aside from Tom Emmer, being himself]. Read the item, the comments, and pursue it further via web searching if you like.
John Marty's position is fleshed out; this link.
In fairness, some DFL candidates are largely opposed to substantial cost participation in any stadium, itself, but suggest infrastructure improvements, doing TIF, some sort of an indirect partial subsidy, might be okay.
My view: Zygi is a very wealthy man. Whatever he wants, he has the wealth to buy. He did excactly that with a football team. Bless him if he buys a new stadium in Minnesota. It's his team to keep here or move, subject to league approval. The nation will not mourn if Zygi likes Los Angeles and LA likes Zygi, nor will the planet stop spinning on its axis. Land development deals aplenty likely exist there in LA, still, so Zygi can pursue his key pleasures.
I would not have given one penny of public money to Pohlad and his baseball team either.
Those that voted to subsidize Pohlad with public money should be called upon to explain themselves and their lax attitude to use of public money. Pohlad pulled strings, and it's wrong, him or Zygi. The only difference is Pohlad got there first and had a better idea of which strings to pull to get the proper puppet movement. Reprehensible. Totally irresponsible and reprehensible.
______UPDATE______
John Marty appears to be a fiscal conservative when it comes to some government spending - wanting full bang for the buck, and priorities to be set sensibly.
Locally, I sometimes find myself fully agreeing with the Anoka County Watchdog, a generally conservative website, but wanting fair bang for the buck and sensible priorities. We might disagree about priorities, but we agree against lobbying expenses for government to lobby government, wasteful or indulgent practices with other peoples' money - public money - restaurant tabs and all.
For the Marty view of a progressive-conservative blend; this link.