Hello Minneapolis Folks, This is a smart investment for Carl Pohlad he will make his money back on naming rights as Jim has reminded everyone, and the value of his team will increase more than his $125 million contribution as soon as the project is started. I am a baseball fan as well. I would love to watch baseball outdoors when it is sunny and 75 degrees. I believe the location that has been chosen for this project is perfect. But that does not mean that such an investment is a good use of public dollars. I had a friend of mine argue it is an "investment" for the county and city. We made same investment in the Metro Dome and it has been a depreciating investment since the day it has been built. I will guarantee after new stadiums are built for the Twins and the Vikings the city of Minneapolis will use tax increment finance dollars to tear down and redevelop that area of down town. We will be on the hook for more then just a new stadium. Recently while listening sports radio cleaver banter about the Timberwolves and one of the on air talents stated, "The Target Center is just too old". The public will always be on the hook for the next stadium or arena as soon as one is completed. But the truth be told private industry already receives a significant amount of tax dollars every year, and stadiums just get more scrutiny. Building new stadiums or arenas is great for owners, construction companies, and some restaurants and bars, but it is not a very good investment for the public. Building a house is a much better investment! How many homes could we build for the low income working people to own for that same price? Now that would be a good investment and each family would have their own naming rights! Ken Bradley
Jim McGuire <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I'm somewhat of an agnostic on the stadium deal, but the more I read about it the more I'm annoyed with how it's being spun in the media. My biggest annoyance? Carl Pohlad's "contribution" of $125m. If Pohlad was truly contributing that money out of his pocket, I'd be more inclined to support the concept. I love baseball, and it is a really small tax. (Don't get me wrong, I still struggle with this because I think there are other prioriies - such as proposals for a metro-wide .25 pct tax for transit). What bugs me the most is reading that Pohlad owns the naming rights. I just read that the average received by pro teams for naming rights is $54.6m (the Wild are getting considerably more for the Xcel Center so I'd consider the $54.6 to be a low estimate as to what Pohlad gets). I'd say, roughly, half of his "contribution" is coming from naming rights. If the media would tell us that clearly that'd be one thing. Maybe that's been covered well in more in-depth stories and I've missed it, but I consider the repeated statement of Pohlad's "contribution" to be a snow-job. Jim McGuire Como Check out the Usual Suspects Blog - http://www.browncross.com/usualsuspects REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
