As I stood outside the dome yesterday, waiting to go in to see the game, I observed something that made me realize just how important the Twins are to some people in the community. No, not the undershirt wearing, beer-drinking, recliner sitting crowd that pseudo-intellectuals like to decry because some are ashamed of their own parents and others are effete snobs. The group that probably gets the greatest benefit from listening or watching Twins games are the house bound, whether seniors or handicapped. I saw this in the excitement that was evident on the faces of several quadriplegic persons being wheeled into the game by their aids. I began to think about the importance of 160 games a year for these people. Certainly bike paths and amateur soccer fields are important, as some who have no interest in professional baseball have pointed out, but to those house bound people the Twins are very important. For that reason I believe we should do what is necessary to keep the Twins.
Also evident were the incredible mix of people from the Metro and outstate areas, not just Minneapolis. This reminded me that the Twins are not just a Minneapolis resource, but also a State of Minnesota resource. Both because of their impact on quality of life, but also because the players pay State Tax on those exorbitant salaries as well as spending a lot of it in the area. Where do you think they buy those fancy cars and jewelry? I still have a problem subsidizing multi-millionaires, so I suggest the Twins be bought by the City of Minneapolis, or the State of Minnesota, or by some group of multi-millionaires and then immediately incorporated and sold as a publicly held corporation whose by-laws and charter do not allow the team to be moved from the area. The homebound person, the outstate senior; as well as all the other fans could take some vicarious thrill of being part of the ownership of the team. If you have about 100,000 small owners of a team that could not be moved, and that team were truly the "MINNESOTA" Twins, I would not be adverse to a publicly owned stadium. Such a team ownership might negate the need for a new stadium, and it is certainly cheaper to buy the team than to build a stadium. In fact, it is less than half the cost of building a stadium. Such ownership would generate a lot more interest in going to see the team play in regular season. Look at Green Bay, people like going to see a team play that they personally "own". It is the Rich ownership that is demanding a new stadium and blackmailing the State to build such a stadium with threats of moving or killing the team, not fans. Fans absolutely love the Dome. The Dome experience is almost as important to an attending fan as the game being played. At this time fans have a vicarious ownership of the team and get so excited, but I can only imagine the excitement if you had a hundred thousand "owners". Only half of who would be able to get into the game at any one time. The dome gives an advantage to the Twins now. Remember how many playoffs and championships Pre-Dome Twins won with people running the team who actually knew baseball? Not very many! Now think about all the Post-Dome Twins won championships and World Series under the control of people who knew nothing at all about baseball. The Twins would not, and could not, have ever won such championships without the Dome. For these reasons, and because of the better quality of life the Twins give to a lot of people, (some we do not normally stop to consider), we have to keep the Twins. So let us look at different means of keeping them. The people of Minnesota should not be held hostage every twenty years by threats of losing the team. The cheapest as well as the longest-term solution is to simply buy the team and sell it in a public stock offering. Thus guaranteeing there will always be MINNESOTA Twins and that more people will be supporting the team. I wonder why Carl has not thought of this option. Carl might make more money, and leave as a state hero. I would like to even buy a few shares at say ten to twenty dollars a share. I only go to one or two games a year but I can assure you if I am one of the owners I am voting that the Twins aren't going anywhere except the Dome in the Spring and Fall. Jim Graham, Ventura Village P.S. I know that World Cup Soccer plays just such an important role in the lives of people in other countries, (and indeed people sit by their radios listening to bicycle racing in France), but this IS America and our people like baseball. With the present rate of legal and illegal immigration to the United States we will have enough soccer fans to justify a professional Minnesota team in the next twenty to thirty years, so this publicly owned model could be applied to soccer at that time. _______________________________________ 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
