Perhaps no movie moguls have gone to the state with their hands out, but last time I checked, Block E was still supposed to be including a movie theatre and that got how big of a subsidy from Minneapolis?
I'll admit that some of Carl Pohlad's and Red McCombs' tactics over the years have made me want to puke, but to suggest that no other forms of entertainment beside professional sports seek subsidies seems pretty weak. How many performance theatres have taxpayers helped out at either the local or state level over the years? One could argue that the Minneapolis Convention Center would qualify as an entertainment facility with the various expos and shows they hold each year. And then we could go on and talk about subsidies granted to other private businesses like Target or the company that jumped to St. Paul from Minneapolis a few years ago (was it Lawson Software?) when they were offered a nice facility subsidy. Last time I heard, Target was still turning a pretty nice annual profit, so why'd they need a subsidy to locate a store downtown? Heck, if we really want to get into corporate welfare, let's start talking about all the welfare taxpayers have doled out to auto manufacturers over the decades through road and freeway construction (though that discussion would have to move off-list). My point is, some on this list would like us to believe that professional sports owners are evil incarnate when the truth is they're just doing the same things every other corporation does, or at least they're trying to. The only difference is they get more press coverage for it and so the public is up in arms. Why is that? I personally have a lot less of a problem helping pay for a ballpark for the Twins than I do paying subsidies to Target or the Block E developers. If we lose the Twins, there's no more pro baseball to watch (the Saints DON'T count) whereas what really is the public gain from a downtown Target or a downtown movie theatre? I understand the downtown Target is doing pretty well, but how much of our city's current budget problems are due to those subsidies and was it worth it? Will Block E be worth it? Boy, and people want to pick on the Park Board. Mark Snyder Windom Park (59A) [EMAIL PROTECTED] On 9/1/02 9:23 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > In the Sunday Strib is an article about a Minnesota dude who may be the next > big name in professional wrestling. He makes a statement that he knows he is > in the entertainment business. > With all this talk about stadiums, and arenas, do we realize that baseball, > football, etc. are forums for entertainment? > Why doesn't the legislature talk about funding a megaplex theater? > Entertainment is entertainment, we don't see the movie moguls threatening to > show movies somewhere else if we don't build them a new theater. I'd rather > pay 8 bucks to watch a good movie. > > Just my 2 cents (Really good opinions cost a nickel) > > Joel Brand > SW Mpls _______________________________________ 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
