At 04:29 PM 09/07/2002 -0500, Barbara L. Nelson wrote: >What the voters said was that they didn't want the city to spend more than >$10 million on getting a new stadium. That's not the same as not wanting a >stadium built in Minneapolis, if a stadium is going to be built somewhere. >As RT said last night, (paraphrasing) it will be millions less expensive to >build a stadium in Minneapolis because other sites will have infrastructure >costs, and in Minneapolis the infrastructure is already in place. If a >stadium bill passes, all things being equal, wouldn't we rather have the >spending and the jobs in Minneapolis? Moreover, don't we want to be >conservative with the public purse? True, that was the wording of the referendum. However, I don't think that meant the voters said "spend 10 million on getting a new stadium."
Why shouldn't people who want a stadium be calling business leaders -- not legislators to get it built? Lobbying business leaders can also be effective. Talk to friends of yours who have connections to the decision makers in business and to the venture capitalists. >I'd like to set whether or not a stadium SHOULD be built aside, I think the >list has debated that ad nauseum. (capital letters not meant to shout, just >for clarity) We know there will be a push to build a stadium in Minneapolis, >RT said so last night. We also know that the leader of the effort will be >Opat, of Hennepin County, not RT. What peeves me off, is why the government is the funder/bank of first resort. What the teams want is a stadium with more luxary boxes -- which none of the general public will be able to enjoy. Then businesses will use these luxary boxes to wine and dine their big clients. And some of those expenses get written off as business expenses, so the taxpayers don't recoup that money in taxes. The debate has not been about if there should be a stadium built in Minneapolis. The debate on this list has been whether taxpayers should be put at risk (financing) or whether taxes should increase (funding). It's been pretty clear that most posters on this list, who post on the subject oppose government financing and funding of a stadium. The Guthrie as I understand it doesn't have luxary boxes. Neither does the proposed planetarium. That planetarium will be heavily utilized by schools in the area which benefits children. That is also more something that is part of the role of government. >What I'm interested in knowing is whether or not there is any activity going >on right now either with legislators or municipalities in Hennepin County to >lay the groundwork to get the stadium built in Minneapolis. And, if so, >what? > >I don't think it's too early. Those of us who want the stadium to be built >in Minneapolis should be contacting our legislators right now. Again, what's stopping people from lobbying the business community. They are the ones who should step up to the plate. Barbara, I'd be glad to work with you on this, if you want to work on getting business leaders to step up to the plate. Are there others on this list who are interested in that. Eva Eva Young Near North Minneapolis "You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone - not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be." --Article II of the Bill of Non-Rights. _______________________________________ 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
