On 9/25/02 2:32 PM, "Eva Young" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> As I recall the faculty are not universally supportive of the University > making this stadium a priority - because many faculty feel that it's > putting athletics ahead of the U's primary mission. > > I would agree with that one. I would agree with that as well. However, it has also been argued that bringing Gopher football back to campus would increase athletic department revenues and reduce the need for subsides from the University's general fund. So it's not quite as simple as portrayed above. > Let the NFL extend their deadline for the $50,000 contribution towards the > stadium. They want it -- they should invest in it. Um, that's $50 million that the NFL would contribute, not $50,000. > There's also a real problem if the traffic to stadium events makes it hard > for evening and weekend students to get to classes. Um, as a still relatively recent U of MN graduate (class of 1997), I can tell you that weekend classes are nearly nonexistent - especially on Sundays when NFL games are played. And the libraries are far away enough from where the stadium is proposed that I really doubt Viking traffic would pose much interference. And hopefully students would refrain from registering for Saturday classes in the rare instance that one might be offered so they can go "Rah, Rah, Rah for Ski-U-Mah!" instead. :-) Maybe there might be a problem if the Vikings had a game scheduled for Monday Night Football, but that might happen once or twice a season at most. Students who had weeknight classes were usually disrupted more by Gopher basketball or hockey games until Parking and Transportation Services came up with a placard that students could register to get for their car to prove they were on campus for class and not a sporting event so they wouldn't get charged the event parking rates. I agree, however, with some of the points of Mr. Mosedale's article. The timeline for working out all these details is pretty skimpy, especially since I've yet to see the Vikings adequately explain why renovating the Dome would not solve their revenue concerns. Unlike the Twins, who have been losing money for years, the Vikings have been making a profit - apparently just not enough of one to satisfy Mr. McCombs. I'm all in favor of bringing the Gophers back to campus where they belong and if any football stadium is built, that should be the primary focus. If the Vikings want to be a part of that, fine, but any demands they have should be secondary to the wishes of the University. Mark Snyder Windom Park (59A) [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________ 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
