vickings stadium

[ezra]

so who thinks MN got the shaft?
who thinks this is a good thing
think we all know my stance but I will start
975 million dollar building to repace a 30 yr old building with a new roof
30 YR lease ok 10 home games pr yr. that comes to only 3million two hundred fifty thoused per game WHAT A DEAL for a place for grown men to play a game so there billionare bosses/owners can show there buds how important they are . a huge percent of the MN population cant afford to go see them play even if they get free tix.
and why why why do the states give the team owners the right to sell the naming rights?
better yet what happend to naming places after important people?

 

[dcsnomo]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...ns-out-to-be/2012/05/12/gIQA9fe2KU_story.html

As a person who spent the first 32 years of his life in MN I think this is a travesty.

http://www.winonadailynews.com/news...cle_8daaa1a2-9c7c-11e1-a884-001a4bcf887a.html

 

[Kelor]

Don't get me started. Even this morning as we get the news that California is a mere $7 billion more in deficit than the January assumption (now $16 billion), we continue as a society to spend other peoples' money as if it were other peoples' money.

 

[Skylar]

Well, first you need a team good enough to bring in the fans, that may be a few years yet. Second, if the owner wants a new stadium, let him pay for it. If he wants to move the team because no new stadium, well then move it. And yes, if this were to happen to the Packers, I would say the same thing, I am sure I can find something to do on a Sunday afternoon besides watch football. LOL.

 

[jr37]

I feel the same way, Skyler. Absolutely under no circumstances should a stadium ever cost taxpayers money.

 

[kbuchan]

I am glad they built the stadium. there are lots of jobs because of it and the tax dollars from all the players that come there. It also not just the 10 viking games a year it all the other things that go on in there. When the roof of the dome went down there were about 1,000 events that had to be canceled. which also left lots of people with out work and on unemployment.

 

[xcr440]

The arguement that let them build their own, or go some where else holds a full glass of water, until they leave. Just ask Houston, Baltimore, and Cleveland.

Yeah, you are going to have those that say just what has been said here, but none of us fans have gone through a team leaving, and fortunately, probably won't, especially the Packers being a team that has the only ownership set up as it is.

Keeping an NFL franchise in your city pays dividends waaaaay beyond ticket sales, and tax revenue from player salaries. As stated, there are a lot of jobs that come with a new stadium. Its probably a sad state of affairs, but unfortunately, that is the business world we live in. The state will get their money back on their investment.

The only thing that gets me, is when an offer from an Indian Community to pony up $500M towards the project, as well as the offer to split the profits from a metro Casino are shot down before the details can even be laid out, THAT really ticks me off.

Are the legislators too good to take that money, yet watch it happen all around them? Ugh.

 

[ezra]

I am glad they built the stadium. there are lots of jobs because of it and the tax dollars from all the players that come there. It also not just the 10 viking games a year it all the other things that go on in there. When the roof of the dome went down there were about 1,000 events that had to be canceled. which also left lots of people with out work and on unemployment.

well the lots of jobs will last what a yr or so then gone the same few people will be doing maintenance that are now.
and BTW start looking up what states most players call home it is not MN most pick FL or other low income tax states.
and the argument of all the jobs well the vendors for the most part work for free there pay goes to what charity they are working for.
and now lets get to the so called funding source for this wast of cash electronic pull tabs to replace the pull tabs the currently pay for things like fire stations school teams food shelves GREAT work.
so now all that money will be coming from some place and that place is your pay check Dayton and the rest of the DFL are giddy with the thought of MN being #1 in taxing in the country..
and I have lived with a team leaving the N Stars left and guess what life went on the bars stayed open and to get a new team they remodeled the old place.
from what I understand after naming rights the VIP boxes and the promised loan from the NFL Ziggys out of pocket will be less than 10 million GREAT DEAL for him the big banana for the rest of us.

and BTW IT IS NOT THE FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT TO CREAT JOBS!!!
the govenment cant and never will be responabel with our money they have no reason to no insentive this is nothing but welfare and a huge scale and this crap is what is bankrupting this country the party is very very close to over.
lets just hope when our creditors call in the notes it is not like the US calling in its Notes from france and great Britian

 

[kbuchan]

You say life will go on if they leave. N stars left, we payed more and built a new stadium for the wild. the basketball team left we payed more and built a new stadium and have the timberwolves. so why not keep the team you have and just build the stadium.

 

[98panther]

Just glad it's over so we can end all the crying from the NON stadium crowd.
They do own their own offices, practice fields, pay their own way in every aspect of their business.
It's just when their games need a place to hold 70K+ ON GAME DAY and millions watching on the tube. That State needs to step up.

If you have a business that can draw that interest and bring that $$$ to the State - that the Vikings do, I'm sure you would get a stage too.

This matters to the State top to bottom, not just here in the TC Try to get a table in anyhwere during Vikings game.
Business is good everywhere for those 3 hours.

Losing the Vikings would have been a huge loss, And we would have lost them. These owners may not have moved them. But they would have just put them up for sale. And nobody locally would have touched it, they would have been bought and moved.

 

[polarisrider1]

Well, first you need a team good enough to bring in the fans, that may be a few years yet. Second, if the owner wants a new stadium, let him pay for it. If he wants to move the team because no new stadium, well then move it. And yes, if this were to happen to the Packers, I would say the same thing, I am sure I can find something to do on a Sunday afternoon besides watch football. LOL.

May this statement go into history books. I totally agree with you!

 

[ezra]

3million 250k per game great investment.
the only huge loss the vickings would be to the state is the is the lack of sunday blues after watching your team choke again and again and again.
2nd the biggist non government employer in MN sadly number 4 on the list is target I think Target draws a bigger croud every day that the vicking do all yr wanna let your tax money start building Target stores? next biggist non GOV employer well for now any way is Allina Heath number 6 wanna start building ofic parks for them did not think so how about wall marts bet you would get more likes on face book for wall mart than the vickings so why not use the fire departments and other charity old funding outlets to build wallmarts?
http://www.tcbmag.com/factfinder/bigbook/largestemployers-top25.aspx
just in case you want to see the states biggist employers and where the rest of your cash is going

 

[98panther]

You'd find something else to get the "blues" about - I am sure.

Shoulda spent some time outside the Capital if you really care, The fat lady has sung!

 

[dcsnomo]

I am glad they built the stadium. there are lots of jobs because of it and the tax dollars from all the players that come there. It also not just the 10 viking games a year it all the other things that go on in there. When the roof of the dome went down there were about 1,000 events that had to be canceled. which also left lots of people with out work and on unemployment.

Ok, fine, building a stadium and having Vikings games creates jobs. You are correct.

Now, suppose I took 5 smart Minnesotans and sat them in a room and said "Here is a half a billion dollars, yessir, that's billion with a B. I want you to create as many jobs as possible."

How many times do you think the answer "build a facility for one private company" would come up as the answer?

I'm thinkin, oh, build roads, fix bridges, modernize schools, hire teachers, hire fire fighters, hire police. Ya see, building a stadium for a private business that has priced itself out of the realm of the average Minnesotan is stupid. How is this gonna benefit the guy who works at the 3M sandpaper plant in Alexandria? How does this benefit someone who doesn't care about the Vikings? But, if these families got a better education for their children, or reduced crime in their communities it would make a difference. If business in MN was able to reduce transportation costs because of improved roads, that would make a difference.

A half a billion dollar tax just got levied on the average Joe of Minnesota (yes, gambling is a tax). He or she will get nothing for it, save for a very few targeted businesses.

Perhaps my Minnesota upbringing is coming out, but if you are going to hit the residents of the state with a half a billion dollar tax it should be for the benefit of the greater good.

 

[Deeppow17]

I think its a waste. I say we just get rid of them. They are no good and don't need a new stadium. There is nothing wrong with the dome. It has worked good for 30 years and it will still be fine for another 30. I think we are wasting our money on a team that is not good any more.

 

[pfeifest]

Stadium

I think it's a joke to force the taxpayers to pay that much. If the Packer's ever did that I'd turn in my season tickets the next day. The people who go to the games (me) should pay or there should be a seat fee. If the ticket demand doesn't support those added costs then you probably shouldn't do it.

Of course... like a lot of others have mentioned that is a simplistic approach to it. If MN doesn't pony up the $ they'll just go somewhere that will. So I'm not really sure what the ideal solution is.

 

[renegade]

What gets me is states will build stadiums for sports teams but not give tax breaks to corps that want to build and create real full time employment. There would be no out of pocket expenses for that approach. Instead they create rules and regs discouraging growth, and another tax!

 

[tealracing16]

I'm pretty torn on this issue because I lived in GB when the referendum went to the voters to approve the tax package or not. What it amounted to was an extra 0.05% tax on anything purchased in Brown County. At least with this approach the state should get the money back? or did I miss what the actual wording was. There were lots of people that didn't want the Packers to get the money but they new if they didn't do something the team would look at leaving. Yes we are the only publicly owned team but that doesn't mean they cant' look elsewhere.

It's sad that the state said to **** with the budget and approved this, but it is also sad that we put people who play a game most of us played in our backyards on such high pedestals.

 

[frnash]

I think its a waste. I say we just get rid of them. They are no good and don't need a new stadium. There is nothing wrong with the dome. It has worked good for 30 years and it will still be fine for another 30. I think we are wasting our money on a team that is not good any more.

"They takes a licking and keeps on 'vicking' [sic]?"

 

[dcsnomo]

I'm pretty torn on this issue because I lived in GB when the referendum went to the voters to approve the tax package or not. What it amounted to was an extra 0.05% tax on anything purchased in Brown County. At least with this approach the state should get the money back? or did I miss what the actual wording was. There were lots of people that didn't want the Packers to get the money but they new if they didn't do something the team would look at leaving. Yes we are the only publicly owned team but that doesn't mean they cant' look elsewhere.

It's sad that the state said to **** with the budget and approved this, but it is also sad that we put people who play a game most of us played in our backyards on such high pedestals.

Actually, the Packers would have a tough time moving. The "publicly owned" phrase means just that, they are owned by the public. No one is allowed to have more than 200 shares., To move would require a vote of the owners, which are the thousands of shareholders in the general public. The team, buy not having an individual owner, cannot decide to move. The owners must approve it. They won't.

The stadium bonds for the 2003 expansion were indeed a referendum, which means the voters approved it directly. I believe the bonds are nearly paid off, but don't quote me. The current expansion is being paid for by the team.

The primary purpose of the expansions was not to prevent a move, but to increase revenue to stay competitive in attracting talent.