Governor Pawlenty Suggests Stadium Financing Options

[Champ]

As a member of Minnesota Momentum, a grassroots coalition of fans, community and business leaders who are dedicated to finding a stadium solution for the Minnesota Vikings, I proud to announce that the governor has weighed in on the stadium issue in a positive manner for the first time!

In an email I received this evening:

Dear Champ:

In his most supportive comments yet for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium, Governor Tim Pawlenty suggested two potential financing options for the facility during his appearance on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) Wednesday.

Pawlenty said the state could create a new lottery and direct a portion of the proceeds toward the stadium project, estimated by the MSFC to cost $870 million.

“People will say it should go into schools or roads or whatever, but if you want to link gaming with the Vikings stadium, that’s another way to do it,” said Pawlenty. “There’s ideas that we can cobble together a package without affecting taxes. It would be voluntary contributions if people want to play the lottery.”

Pawlenty also said some of the taxes generated by a new facility could be used to pay down the debt, a revenue stream the Vikings have pursued in the past. While the team currently pays $18 million annually in taxes, according to an independent study by Convention, Sports & Leisure (CSL), a new facility and the retention of the team would generate $26 million a year in tax revenue.

“You know there’s an increment of economic activity that comes with a new Vikings stadium compared with what they generate currently,” said Pawlenty. “So one way to do it would be to say, you can have access to some or all of the additional revenues that you generate beyond what you’re generating now. That’s not a huge number but it might be one piece of the puzzle.”

“The Vikings are important,” said Pawlenty. “We’ve got to solve the problem.”

The Governor’s positive comments come just one day before the opening of the 2010 Legislative Session. With just 20 games remaining on the Vikings current Metrodome lease, 2010 is a critical year to discuss a solution.

“We appreciate the Governor and the other State leaders who are exploring creative ideas to resolve this issue,” said Lester Bagley, the Vikings Vice President of Public Affairs and Stadium Development. “State lottery proceeds have been used to help construct NFL stadiums in Seattle and Baltimore, so they have proven to be a viable option.”

I've previously communicated to both my state representative and senator that they need to finish what they started with both the Twins and the Gophers new stadiums. We're 2/3rds of the way to completing the deal - and now it's the VIKINGS turn!!!

Both Dan Sparks and Jeanne Poppe will have new emails from me when the get to the office in the morning!

[SuperGonzo]

It's about time he suggested something besides "pound sand."

[Champ]

Originally Posted by SuperGonzo

It's about time he suggested something besides "pound sand."

Well, he's been on the no new taxes kick from day one...

He's telling the legislature what he'll sign. Now it's on them to act accordingly.

Personally, I think the quickest easiest solution is to allow slots and cards at Canterbury Downs. They already are gambling at the horse track anyway, so it's not like bringing a new gambling venue to the state.

I know the Indian casinos wouldn't be happy about the idea. If they don't want the competition they could offer to provide $500,000,000.00 towards the new stadium.

[acb]

I think T-Paw is just saying enough to get by until he gets out of office. He also has presidential aspirations as well.

I am a Minnesota resident. I am also a Packer fan. I went to the U for undergrad, but I do not root for the football Gophers.

It may sound convoluted, but I have no issue with the Gophers or Twins stadiums. They were started under much better economic conditions than we face today. Even though I do not root for the Gophers in football (hoops only), it was nice to see some life come back to campus on Saturdays. I had a chance to see the Purdue game with some college buddies and have a couple of beers in Stadium Village afterwards. I had a blast. I think it gives a big lift to the state (even if Tim Brewster doesn't).

I believe the Twins contributed a load of cash for their project.

Lottery to fund it? Fine. Gambling revenues? Fine. There will probably be a big fight with the tribes on that one. I feel like I get nickel and dimed enough by the City of St. Paul without having to pay any more taxes.

[Champ]

Originally Posted by acb

I think T-Paw is just saying enough to get by until he gets out of office. He also has presidential aspirations as well.

He is urging the legislature to act this session. He may have presidential aspirations, but the issue is now.

I believe the Twins contributed a load of cash for their project.

The Twins original contribution of the base $390 mil cost was $125 mil. Of course the full cost of the stadium with infrastructure is over $500 mil.

The VIKINGS have already offered to contribute a higher percentage than the Twins did for their stadium. Zygi isn't afraid to spend money like the Pohlad family.

Lottery to fund it? Fine. Gambling revenues? Fine. There will probably be a big fight with the tribes on that one. I feel like I get nickel and dimed enough by the City of St. Paul without having to pay any more taxes.

I have no problem if they want to tax you rich city folks...

[jimbocat]

Anything to get a new stadium......Zygi has done his part to field a competitive team, time for the state and fans to anti up.......and pls, pls, pls, let it have a retractable roof......

[zod]

Originally Posted by jimbocat

Anything to get a new stadium......Zygi has done his part to field a competitive team, time for the state and fans to anti up.......and pls, pls, pls, let it have a retractable roof......

It looks like Zygi's tryout for the LA franchise to me. Personally, I'd rather you get a real ballpark and stay right where you are. The league sure as shit isn't giving it to JAX.

[weeds]

It'd be about friggen time... I too want the Vikies staying right where they're at.

[Jeremy]

Originally Posted by jimbocat

Anything to get a new stadium......Zygi has done his part to field a competitive team, time for the state and fans to anti up.......and pls, pls, pls, let it have a retractable roof......

Retractable roof on the football stadium, but not the baseball stadium? That's bass ackwards.

[weeds]

Originally Posted by acb

Lottery to fund it? Fine. Gambling revenues? Fine. There will probably be a big fight with the tribes on that one. I feel like I get nickel and dimed enough by the City of St. Paul without having to pay any more taxes.

Minnesota caters to the tribes as well??? I suppose ... where there is gaming...there will be tribal compacts to pander to.

[jimbocat]

Originally Posted by Jeremy

Retractable roof on the football stadium, but not the baseball stadium? That's bass ackwards.

Tell me about it..........baseball in April should be interesting........

[acb]

Originally Posted by weeds

Minnesota caters to the tribes as well??? I suppose ... where there is gaming...there will be tribal compacts to pander to.

I don't think that Minnesota gets even half the monies from the tribes that Wisconsin does, if any at all. I think that's why it would be such a fight with the tribes for off reservation gambling. They don't want to give up their monopoly.

[SuperGonzo]

Originally Posted by jimbocat

Tell me about it..........baseball in April should be interesting........

If I remember correctly, I think the AL Central teams have a smaller % of their home games early in the season for just that reason.

Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and now Minnesota. . .wonder how many games will get snowed out this April.

EDIT: Looks like I was incorrect, considering that the Twins open their new park with a 9-game homestand from 12 April to 22 April. Makes it that much more interesting.

[zod]

Originally Posted by SuperGonzo

If I remember correctly, I think the AL Central teams have a smaller % of their home games early in the season for just that reason.

Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and now Minnesota. . .wonder how many games will get snowed out this April.

EDIT: Looks like I was incorrect, considering that the Twins open their new park with a 9-game homestand from 12 April to 22 April. Makes it that much more interesting.

And here I thought we were trying to fund a football stadium.

Now if you want to talk basicball, I'm your huckleberry sweetie.

[Champ]

Originally Posted by acb

They (the tribes) don't want to give up their monopoly.

To which I say, "Screw 'em!"

The monopoly is why I have never spent a dime on gambling in any of the casinos in MN or WI. The compacts may give them the right to have them, but it doesn't force me to spend my money there.

I'm all for the "Racino" at Canterbury to pay for the stadium. Save the MN taxpayers some money on building the new stadium, and once it's paid for those profits can be used towards other worthwhile projects.

[jimbocat]

Originally Posted by Champ

I'm all for the "Racino" at Canterbury to pay for the stadium. Save the MN taxpayers some money on building the new stadium, and once it's paid for those profits can be used towards other worthwhile projects.

All you can bet on is the races there.....right?????.......if so, let them have all the gambling that the casinos have and use that money...

[Champ]

Originally Posted by jimbocat

All you can bet on is the races there.....right?????.......if so, let them have all the gambling that the casinos have and use that money...

That's right, just bet on the horses.

Let the horse track have slots and black jack. It's not adding a new gambling venue, just making an existing one better.

I don't get into horse racing (been to Canterbury once, watched the ponies run, been there, did that, done that - don't need to do it again), and I don't visit casinos any more than I have to (occaissionally have been inside them for trade shows, training seminars and for car shows).

[Galileo]

Minnesota Governor says funding for stadium not in budget proposal

Posted by Mike Florio on February 10, 2010 11:51 AM ET
In theory, the excitement generated by the 2009 Vikings, with a 12-4 season, a rollicking romp over the Cowboys in the division round of the playoffs, and an NFC title game for the ages should have been enough to shake some public money out of the tree that is Minnesota government.

But with fiscal problems making said tree look like the thing Charlie Brown bought at a very steep discount, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday that his proposal for a new state budget will not include funding for a new Vikings stadium, according to Mike Kaszuba of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

(Mr. Wilf? Ed Roski is on line 2. Again.)

Pawlenty suggested last week that a new lottery game could help fund the venue. Regardless of he ultimate plan, the clock is ticking more loudly than the heel of Marisa Tomei's boot.

The Metrodome lease expires after the 2011 season -- and the Vikings have no plans to renew it.

And so the Vikings in two seasons will become stadium free agents, which means that they should be the top targets for a move to Los Angeles.

Every sports team that Minnesota has ever had that's worth a crap has left (Lakers, North Stars) and now even the teams that aren't worth a crap are leaving. They can barely sell out a home playoff game, they're 30th in the league in revenue and the short-term fortunes of their team ride on the arm of a 41 year old prima donna choke machine.

Hasta la vista Twin Cities. Aloha LA.

Jesus. I couldn't make stuff like this up if I were trying.

[zod]

Originally Posted by Champ

That's right, just bet on the horses.

Let the horse track have slots and black jack. It's not adding a new gambling venue, just making an existing one better.

I don't get into horse racing (been to Canterbury once, watched the ponies run, been there, did that, done that - don't need to do it again), and I don't visit casinos any more than I have to (occaissionally have been inside them for trade shows, training seminars and for car shows).

Are you guys really that uninformed? The card room has been subsidizing the horse racing for years. Blackjack and poker mostly. Trainers have to make money at the betting window to make ends meet. I thought this was common knowledge there years ago. I don't know why the Indians would want to get involved in this white elephant.

In brightest day, in blackest night,
no evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil's might,
beware my power ...Green Lantern's light!

[Cblatz]

If Minnesota started a new lottery just to fund a football stadium, wouldn't that drain off revenues from the other lotteries that currently go into the general fund now? How exactly does that help Minnesota's current budget deficit? It doesn't matter which pocket they take the money from, it looks like Minnesota taxpayers are going to take a big hit to pay for this dog. And make no mistake, if this stadium is only going to be used for 10 Viking games a year, and a few other events, it will never make money if the state has to shell out $600 million or so to fund it.

[Galileo]

They put in a state lottery here in Texas about 15 years ago....no small feat for a Bible Belt state that still has a lot of Blue Laws on the books. They got it passed by saying the money was going to fund education...(pause for laughter).

Guess what? There really isn't much money. After they pay their costs and distribute prizes the actual amount of money that ends up in the public education system is a pretty tiny nugget.

They've done a zillion studies on it too and found that the lottery is essentially a tax on the poor and the uneducated.....affluent, educated people don't play it very much but lower SES groups play it religiously.

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We built the Alamodome to attract an NFL team....or so they said. Didn't happen. Sure, we got played a couple of times by teams looking for a sweeter deal elsewhere but that's about it. Now, the stadium.....which isn't even 20 years old......is obsolete for the NFL. It'd have to be remodeled.......at a cost greater than its actual construction......in order to meet NFL standards.

Do the taxpayers here feel like we got bent and boned? You betcha. Now, the Spurs played in it for a while but it sucked for basketball. And we've had some Final Fours, some monster truck rallies, some Evangelical rallies, some conventions, etc. and an occasional college football game that have actually kept the place utilized quite a bit.

But now, the Spurs play elsewhere, we have no football team and the dome sits idle many more days that it's used.

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Bottom line: The taxpayers are going to fund a stadium in Minnesota or the team is going to leave. 99% of the taxpayers will never attend a game in that stadium. Even in Green Bay.....which directly benefits financially from the Packers.....the vote to have a tax for renovations some years ago only passed by a relatively narrow margin.

I think it's really a hard sell for Zygi Wilf.