I know there\u2019s a \u201cstadium deal\u201d in the works, but there are deals, and then there are deals. The current plan is not going to survive either the Legislature or the Minneapolis City Council, so the real question is what the end product, if any, will look like. I have my desires; we\u2019ll see if they actually come to pass.<\/p>\n
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First of all, I\u2019m highly ambivalent towards a Vikings stadium, although I\u2019m less against it than I was five years. ago. In that intervening time, both the Twins and the Gophers have received new digs, which makes it hard to argue that the Vikings don\u2019t deserve a new stadium as well. I would have not given the triple-decker sundaes to the kids to begin with, but you can\u2019t give dessert to two out of three chilluns and not the last one, even if their secondary makes you want to hang your head and cry.<\/p>\n
What I would like to see is a stadium commission that owns Target Field, the new Vikings stadium, Target Center, Xcel Energy Center, and Midway Stadium (and its replacement). One organization to rule them all, as it were, and one organization to get a hold of our stadium situation so we can stop pitting them against each other. Then, I\u2019d like to see a more secure funding source found, one that doesn\u2019t use General Fund revenue. I\u2019d prefer no gambling too, but if gambling has to be a part of it, I would much prefer private casinos to a state-run one. I\u2019d also like some long-term leases, as well as perhaps long-term replacement plans so we don\u2019t have to go through this every couple of decades. Why not TCF Bank Stadium? Well, the U of M predates the state itself, so there\u2019s that legal quandary, plus, as a nominally not-for-profit entity, their inclusion in a stadium commission would be a bit more out of place. If it had to be, though, then c\u2019est la vie.<\/p>\n
I doubt that the sausage factory that is the legislative process will come up with as nice a plan as this, so ultimately, the details will decide the popularity of the Vikings plan. If it\u2019s a duct-taped attempt to come up with a plan that gets 50%+1, then I think it\u2019s going to be a very hard sell to the people of Minnesota, including me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I know there\u2019s a \u201cstadium deal\u201d in the works, but there are deals, and then there are deals. The current plan is not going to survive either the Legislature or the Minneapolis City Council, so the real question is what the end product, if any, will look like. I have my desires; we\u2019ll see if… Continue reading Stadium Angst<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[212],"class_list":["post-685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-stadium","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t