Minnesota Gov. Says Lottery Could Help Finance Vikings Stadium

Pawlenty Says Lottery Funds Could Generate Estimated $12M Annually For New Stadium

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty yesterday moved closer to "becoming a pivotal player" in the Vikings stadium debate, "suggesting that state lottery money and other means could help publicly finance the controversial project," according to Kaszuba & Stassen-Berger of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Pawlenty in a radio interview said that Minnesota "could use proceeds from a new state lottery game to generate an estimated" $12M annually for a new stadium. Pawlenty said that he is "not specifically proposing such a funding plan," but added that lottery funds "could be part of a public subsidy package that would generate the [$29-42M] annually that team officials say would be needed for a stadium." Kaszuba & Stassen-Berger note a "novel element that Pawlenty offered" in his comments involved a "pumped up version of tax increment financing, a complex financing tool that typically has allowed developers to divert their property taxes to develop their properties." Vikings VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley said team officials "applaud the governor" for his comments. Bagley added that the team has "explored the tax benefits of creating a stadium development district to capture the rise in 'all of the economic activity' surrounding a new facility." Meanwhile, Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC) Chair Roy Terwilliger, whose organization owns the Metrodome, said that "using lottery proceeds for a stadium has been discussed, as has a proposal to divert income taxes paid by players and coaches." Terwilliger noted there is "ongoing dialogue" between the MSFC and the governor's office (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/4).

FOUR SCORE: The AP's John Krawczynski wrote Vikings QB Brett Favre's presence this season was a "boost to everything from the team's box office and merchandise sales to sponsorship deals and its pursuit of a new stadium." Favre's jersey "was the No. 1 seller throughout the league, the ticket office was deluged with requests in the days following his signing in August and the team locked down some lucrative sponsorship deals that were sorely needed to offset the lack of  revenue generated by the Metrodome." Vikings CMO and VP/Sales & Marketing Steve LaCroix: "Certainly, he had an impact. It's hard to quantify it exactly, but there's no doubt he helped." Meanwhile, Davie Brown Talent Group Account Dir Matt Delzell said Favre's decision to return to the Vikings or retire has "a lot of far-reaching implications." Delzell: "Not just on the field, but financially it's a huge hit to the Vikings if he decides to retire" (AP, 2/2).