MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings officials insist their first choice for a stadium remains the St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills.

But they are also taking a closer look at a site in downtown Minneapolis near the Basilica of St. Mary.

The Star Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/tVHgS0 ) the team is conducting a traffic analysis of the site because the property’s ability to house a stadium was relatively unknown. The $1.03 billion proposal is the least known of the team’s possible new homes.

Lester Bagley is the team’s vice president for stadium development and public affairs. He says the team does not yet have a preferred stadium site in Minneapolis.

The stadium’s location is one of the project’s biggest unsolved hurdles along with how to publicly fund its construction.

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