Public Funding For New Vikings Stadium Gets No Legislative Support
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Legislators Say State's Dire Financial Picture
Makes New Vikings Stadium Nearly Unthinkable |
The Vikings' "already wobbly prospects of getting public financing for a new stadium this year got no firmer Monday at the State Capitol, where legislators said the state's dire financial picture made the project nearly unthinkable," according to Mike Kaszuba of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. A state House panel yesterday "brushed aside a new study" by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC), owners of the Metrodome, that stated a new stadium on the Metrodome site would generate $734M in "construction spending, create 13,400 jobs during construction and generate $32.2[M] in taxes during the first year after a new stadium opened." Yesterday marked the first time during this Legislative session that a "proposed $954[M] Vikings stadium had been publicly discussed." MSFC members said that they were "not planning to introduce legislation this year for a new stadium." MSFC Chair Roy Terwilliger "acknowledged that raising the prospect of a new Vikings stadium and the aging Metrodome was 'painful and uncomfortable,' and almost immediately was challenged." Minnesota State Rep. Jeremy Kalin "dismissed statements that all but four of the 32 teams in the [NFL] had either built new stadiums or substantially renovated existing venues in the past decade." Kalin: "We're living in a world where business as usual doesn't cut it anymore." MSFC Exec Dir Bill Lester noted that even if the Vikings leave the Metrodome after their lease expires following the '11 season and the stadium remains, the state "will be left with big decisions." Lester said that the Metrodome "doesn't have cash flow without the Vikings ... and would not function without the team there" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 2/24). The AP's Elizabeth Dunbar notes Vikings officials have met with legislative leaders and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty "in hopes a deal could be reached despite the economy." No Vikings officials testified at yesterday's hearing (AP, 2/24).
LOOKING THROUGH ROSE-COLORED GLASSES: In St. Paul, Bob Sansevere reports Vikings VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley is "confident the Vikings will receive funding from the state for a new stadium." Bagley: "We're confident we're going to get it done in Minnesota. There's a bit of frustration it's coming down to the wire. ... Our lease is up in three years. And I think with the state being our landlord, it's a reasonable question for a tenant to ask: 'What are your plans for us?'" When asked if Vikings Owner Zygi Wilf "continues to be as adamant as he was when he bought the franchise that he will not move the team out of Minnesota," Bagley said, "I don't know that he'll be moving the team. That's up to him to comment on. I think the concern ... is you can't keep putting this issue off because you're headed toward crisis" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/24).
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