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December 07, 2011
Minneapolis mayor backs Metrodome site for Vikings stadium
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who last month proposed three different sites in his city for a Minnesota Vikings and suggested either a sales tax hike or a downtown casino to pay for them, has now revised his plan, telling a state senate committee hearing yesterday, "Our preferred site is the Metrodome," and saying that he would now use existing liquor, sales, and hotel taxes that are currently going to pay off the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Julie Rosen, the Vikings' leading stadium backer in the senate, afterwards declared that the Metrodome site is "getting to be a very viable option," saying it would cost about $200 million less than a stadium in suburban Arden Hills. And never mind the fact that the convention center taxes will still be needed to pay off the convention center through 2020, and that the notion that the convention center won't need upgrades after that point is "a wildly simplistic, absurd assumption," according to ... last February's version of R.T. Rybak.
State stadium negotiator Ted Mondale, meanwhile, took another step toward cementing his place in the We Make Move Threats So Team Owners Don't Have To Hall of Fame yesterday, declaring, "When you have a business that's either losing money or not making money, as sure as winter comes or the leaves fall, they will leave." The Vikings' estimated cash flow over the last decade, according to Forbes: $121 million in profit.
With enemies like Mr. Mondale across the negotiating table, who needs friends?
Assuming he believes his statement about the profitability of the Vikings, you can understand his position. It takes a certain talent to lose money operating an NFL franchise. The kind of talent that should be rewarded.
Posted by Keith on December 7, 2011 11:22 AM
I like the comment from one of the senators on the committee. She basically pointed out that the Vikings are asking the taxpayers to make the single largest public contribution to a privately owned company in the world. Ever.
Posted by Geoff on December 7, 2011 11:37 AM
Residents of Washington state, which gave Boeing $3.2 billion (over 30 years) to stay in town, would beg to differ:
www.goodjobsfirst.org/corporate-subsidy-watch/boeing
Posted by Neil deMause on December 7, 2011 11:42 AM
I should have specified for professional sports. But I guess it does do a good job showing how bad it could really be. I think Minnesota gave Northwest Airlines (now Delta) several hundred million dollars contingent on them keeping MSP as their HQ, but they had to pay back a big chunk of that when they moved off to Atlanta.
Which leads to one of my favorite jokes: If you went to Hell on Delta, you'd have to transfer through Atlanta.
Posted by Geoff on December 7, 2011 02:05 PM
I should have specified for professional sports. But I guess it does do a good job showing how bad it could really be. I think Minnesota gave Northwest Airlines (now Delta) several hundred million dollars contingent on them keeping MSP as their HQ, but they had to pay back a big chunk of that when they moved off to Atlanta.
Which leads to one of my favorite jokes: If you went to Hell on Delta, you'd have to transfer through Atlanta.
Posted by Geoff on December 7, 2011 02:06 PM
Northwest also got a huge handout from the state and Duluth to build a facility up there, and then never actually built the facility. This was back in the late 90s.
Then instead of the state calling them on it, they just rolled forgiveness for that abject failure to live up to their side of the deal into the next subsidy package. It was pretty disgusting.
Posted by Joshua Northey on December 7, 2011 04:09 PM
"With enemies like Mr. Mondale across the negotiating table, who needs friends?"
Indeed. Which raises another question about the Wilfs' finances: can't they even afford their own shill?
Posted by Dave Boz on December 7, 2011 07:25 PM
They'll approve tax-hikes to pay for both. They'll try to do it without a vote.
Posted by NFL in LA on December 8, 2011 05:29 AM