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January 06, 2012
Dayton tries the Vikings stadium deadline thing again
The push to build urgency for a Minnesota Vikings stadium continued yesterday, with Gov. Mark Dayton setting a January 12th deadline for Minneapolis and Ramsey County to submit final plans for their pitches.
This is, of course, not the first time Dayton has tried this gambit, as the St. Paul Pioneer Press notes:
The Democratic governor set a similar timeline last fall to have information submitted in preparation for a pre-Thanksgiving special session, but that plan fell apart in the face of opposition from Republican House Speaker Kurt Zellers.
Since then, Dayton said: "We're left back in this sort of semi-Twilight Zone where we know some of the facts but we don't know all of them, and some people are showing cards and some people are not showing cards. That's why, again, we've got to get all the cards face up on the table."
And if it turns out that nobody has anything better than a pair of threes? As they say in the stadium business, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again and again and again and again...
If the team isn't willing to pay half of the cost of a stadium at this point in the economic history of the country, they can take one of those better deals out their they seem to think is in the offing. Why does the state insist on bidding against themselves? The terms of paying half of any proposal are both better by far than any deal they will get elsewhere and constitute an incredible ROI compared to what any investment is yielding today and going back to their initial purchase. Why give huge subsidies to an entity that doesn't even pay taxes in your state?
Ziggy Wilf is a real estate developer. A pro. He's seen Minnesota politicians negotiating skills in action. Why on earth would he volunteer to pay half of a stadium when he knows that Minnesota politicians will gladly stampede over tax payers to give him money. they did it before and they'll do it again. You see, giving candy to children makes you popular which is a lot like building a stadium. These officials build stadiums, attend the games and are adored by the single-minded sports fan. No doubt it's a good feeling.
Most legislators wouldn't make middle management in a private business and Zig knows this. He's taking advantage of the fact that many elected officials are pretty incompetent. ROI for an elected official is how can a project get them reelected. Professional sports has deep pockets. My guess is that the reason the Target Field was so easily shoved down taxpayers throats was that Carl Pohlad ensured that certain Hennepin Council members would have nice jobs if they lost their elections.
It's really pretty sad to watch.
Posted by john on January 7, 2012 01:46 AM
Its time for Viking fans to bow down and worship Zygi Wilf, give him the billions of dollar he wants
Posted by Worship Zygi on January 8, 2012 04:44 PM