Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, the state's "most important booster for a subsidized Vikings stadium," said yesterday that the team "should pay a larger share of the cost than they have publicly pledged." Both the recently introduced stadium bill and team officials said that the Vikings "would pay one-third of the cost, along with one-third from the state and another third from a local government partner yet to be named." But when asked yesterday what the team's share should be, Dayton said that it "should be higher than a third." Dayton: "I think somewhere between a third and a half, probably closer to between 40 and 50 percent" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/26).
GETTING THE BALL ROLLING: A Cleveland PLAIN DEALER editorial noted Browns officials have said that the team "has no interest in serving as the developer of a mixed-use lakefront district just north" of their existing stadium. But "do not underestimate the importance of what Browns President Mike Holmgren and his executive team are promising to do: convene potential corporate, nonprofit and government partners to jump-start the waterfront development this community has been talking about for more than two decades." So far, private investors "have been notably absent," which is what makes the Browns' initiative "so intriguing." The editorial: "If Holmgren and Co. can entice other private-sector players to take a hard look at the lakefront's economic potential and actually get into the game at long last, they will have performed an enormous public service" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/24).
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Trail Blazers and Portland officials Friday said that "last-ditch efforts" between the two parties "to build out the Rose Quarter have fizzled, and a longstanding development agreement will expire in May." In Portland, Brad Schmidt noted that means "no new restaurants, shops or office space will be built on the 40-acre site, at least not at the direction of the Trail Blazers, which have held exclusive development rights since 1992." But that "doesn't preclude another developer or company from proposing a project." The Trail Blazers had proposed an "entertainment district with a Nike museum." Trail Blazers President Larry Miller and Portland Development Commission Chair Scott Andrews Friday "declined to say whether Nike is involved," and a Nike spokesperson "did not respond to questions" (Portland OREGONIAN, 4/23).
