Mike Opat wrote: > As for the ballpark, I continue to believe the Twins are an > asset worth preserving ... > If the team and the private sector can demonstrate their > commitment to contributing real money to a new ballpark, a local > unit of government needs to lead. That is what the County > Board has proposed and I will continue to support and lead. > And if we are successful, we will participate with user fees > and proximity revenues as much as the legislature will allow. > We will not use property taxes. > > As a side note, Mayor Rybak and the City Council are supportive > of our efforts and we appreciate that.
The biggest problem with this statement is that the Twins and the private sector have shown *no* interest in contributing real money. They want the community to pay for the whole thing. The whole arbitrage, state financing scheme was based on the Twins putting up a big amount of money up front. They weaseled out of that as quickly as possible. They essentially want the locality where the stadium is sited to reimburse them for everything, as far as I can understand what would meet their requirements. When questioned about how much the Twins would be willing to contribute, they say "Well, that's a question new owners would have to answer." When questioned about the prospect of finding new owners, they say "Well, that depends on getting a deal for a new stadium." And where is that vaunted private sector? Ciresi, et al. seem to be lying very low these days. I don't see any of their money on the table. If this was so good for development and business, they would be throwing money at it. Oh, unless they thought they could get it for nothing. I think R.T. has generally done a wonderful job as mayor, but this is one issue that I think he has slipped up badly on. I was very encouraged by his campaign statements on the topic, but the about-face he has done has been very disappointing. Unless someone can clearly show how we come out ahead on the stadium deal, I would appreciate having representatives who can tell the Twins to put up or shut up. So far, I am not encouraged. And by the way Mr. Opat, "great counties have great attractions" might be a nice line for a Twins lobbyist to use in this debate, but I would expect our elected officials to do better! Make a case that putting our hard earned dollars into a stadium to make millionaires out of 25 baseball players makes us better off in some tangible way (not just that we'll feel better about the city), or let St. Paul tax themselves instead, or let the Twins move to North Carolina (oh, I guess that one didn't work out so well). Walt Cygan Keewaydin _______________________________________ 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
