Yup, that's right. Where do the Twins rate in the scale of Minneapolis issues, among affordable housing, the shape of city hall and city policy to come, civil rights, crime, education, coping with the disturbing government policies and actions right here in Mpls after 9/11, NRP, etc.? So low, they might as well not be on the map. The Twins, like all our pro sports, are an exorbitantly expensive luxury item, out of reach of many families, enjoyed by the well-to-do and the corporate entities who bring their guests to games, and a poster child for corporate welfare.
Fact: If we can raise hundreds of millions of dollars for a stadium, we can raise hundreds of millions of dollars for low-income housing, providing a first class education for all our children, and making sure every person in Minnesota has access to decent medical care INSTEAD. But we don't. Instead, city and state governments allow themselves to get drawn into wasting time and money in "problemsolving" how to keep these sports leeches in town, and how to raise those same funds to feed corporate fatcats instead of their citizens. It's time for that to end. Fact: Professional sports has been a bane, not a boon, to Minneapolis. Anyone remember Minneapolis BEFORE pro sports? Remember how it used to be a commercial hub for people all over the metro area, rich or poor? Remember Woolworth's? Remember Penney's? Remember how the streets were teeming with people who couldn't bus or drive in fast enough? Remember when there were actual people on the streets after 5 PM? Now, thanks to all the extra taxes levied to pay for the Target Center & Metrodome, it doesn't pay to go downtown. Nobody can afford to shop there, or if they can, they sure don't want to pay a load of extra money for something they can get for less elsewhere. Where's the boon to businesses that was advertised? Suburban sports fans drive into town for the game and drive back out again. They don't stop & shop. They don't stop for a meal. Heck, look at the tailgate lots before a Vikings game. Those people are getting plastered for hours downtown, but not spending ONE THIN DIME there. They're bringing it all in with them, and then taking it all out. In the mean time, city dwellers get the headache of the extra traffic, garbage, and crime. Fact: People are sick of pro sports whining about needing a new stadium, or worse yet, trying to strongarm a city by saying "we'll leave if you don't..." That's true arrogance. If the team can't build itself a new stadium, there's something wrong with the industry. Movie studios pay for the actors AND the production. Cruise lines pay for the crews AND the ships. Corporations pay for their personnel AND their headquarters. Who came up with the idea that it was OK for sports teams to say "we're already paying for the players - we can't afford the stadiums?" It's time for every city in America to Just Say No. The teams will change the way they do business, sports salaries will go down, and they'll learn to build themselves nice, modest, fun stadiums. Or, they'll crumble and go away. And if the latter happens, that's just fine. Maybe their time is past. Now if there was another attempt going on to pressure Minneapolis or its citizens into paying for a stadium right now, I'm sure we'd see a LOT of commentary here. But about the contraction? All I can do is apologize to other list members for wasting their time even posting re: the Twins, and ask them to join me in a quick cheer... GO TWINS! AND TAKE THE VIKINGS WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Roxana Orrell 8th Ward > >Message: 15 >Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2001 14:17:25 -0600 >From: "Clark C. Griffith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Organization: Clark C.Griffith, P.A. >To: mpls <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [Mpls] Twins > >I am astounded that the loss of the Twins ranks so low as to warrant >almost no comment on this list. >Clark Griffith, from the 7th Ward of a former major league community. > >--__--__-- _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
