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November 14, 2006
Vikes stadium cost tops $800m
The proposed $675 million Minnesota Vikings stadium in suburban Blaine is now an $800 million stadium, according to Anoka County commissioner Dan Erhart. As a result, Erhart said, the project cannot be done without state funds, on top of the county sales-tax hike that was previously proposed.
Why the big increase? As the Minneapolis Star Tribune explains:
Erhart said that the $675 million plan submitted to the Legislature last spring was based on projections calculated nearly two years earlier - costs that were never updated with inflationary prices.And while that figure included a retractable roof that Anoka County projected to cost $115 million, Wilf said construction and operation of the roof would cost at least $200 million. Erhart's $800 million estimate, which Anoka County is trying to fine-tune before it submits stadium costs to the Vikings, includes a retractable roof.
And if that weren't enough, the projected $115 million that would be needed to improve roads around the stadium - money that would expect to come from the feds or the state - now carries an estimated price tag of $270 million, and the state does not consider it a spending priority. According to the Star Trib: "Erhart said he could not say whether the $800 million would cover infrastructure expenses."
In any case, needing any state money at all could be a huge problem for the Vikings, considering that the Twins only got their stadium approved after 11 years of waiting via a complicated maneuver by which the county put up all the funds, while the state exempted the county from a required public referendum. Rolling in Metrodome demolition money might help, but if the nut is really $1.07 billion dollars, that's going to be hard to find under the sofa cushions.
Come on, Neil, why didn't you do the math for us? How manny pennies for each $20 spent add up to $1.07 Billion?
Posted by Jonathan on November 14, 2006 04:29 PM
Sort of interesting this info came out after the election. From what I understand this funding issue almost sank Gov Pawlenty (sp?). Sort of like Bush purposedly underestimating the cost of the Medicare Prescription by a $100 billion or more then the more accurate higher figure comes out after the program passes and he signs the law.
Posted by Michael on November 14, 2006 05:48 PM
it is becoming more common that stadiums are costing out at close to 1 billion dollars. With the opposition to public funding of arenas and stadiums it is becoming harder to sell high prices. If you take the number billion and put it into spaces of time. one billion seconds ago kennedy was not president. one billion minutes ago was just before jesus was born. one billion hours the dinosuars were around but man wasnt .
IF people tell you a billion is a small number you now know what to tell them.
paul
Posted by paul on November 15, 2006 08:48 AM