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May 28, 2012
Vikings final approval, rising stadium costs, and other holiday weekend news
In honor of Memorial Day, here's a slew of bullets ... wait, no, that sounds terrible. Let's try that again: Since it's still the holiday weekend, let's catch up on the news in brief before going back to honoring our war dead by buying things on sale:
- Not that there was any doubt, but the Minneapolis city council gave final approval to the $1 billion Minnesota Vikings stadium project on Friday, one day after the entire council voted for it in committee. "I feel in my gut a little bit like I imagine the Vikings feel after a win," Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said following the vote. You mean he can feel his brain cells dying?
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that "unrealistic revenue projections and the skyrocketing construction cost of sports stadiums, especially football behemoths, is making it increasingly hard for the facilities to generate enough cash to keep pace with expenses." (Yes, that should be "are." AJC copy editors, phone home.) This is contrasted with the Georgia Dome, which "could pay off its bonds two years early" — though all this means is that the state set taxes high enough for the dome that they've generated enough revenue to pay off stadium bonds, unlike in places like Cincinnati and Indianapolis where there have been shortfalls. In neither case is the facility itself actually generating the cash — maybe the AJC fact-checking department took off earlier for the holiday weekend along with the copy editors.
- Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff says he still wants to move to San Jose, he's not interested in a new stadium in Oakland or in selling the team, and he doesn't intend on suing MLB over its territorial rights rules. In other words, status quo.
- Residents of the neighborhood where the Atlanta Falcons want to build a new stadium say they don't hope to stop the project, but would like input on such things as access to construction jobs, traffic mitigation, and "a reduction in church attendance on game Sundays." Sounds like it's time for a community benefits agreement! Though requiring the team to compel people to go to church is going to make for an odd contract clause.
"Though requiring the team to compel people to go to church is going to make for an odd contract clause."
A new kind of blackout rule! Go to church, or else.
Posted by Keith on May 28, 2012 10:17 AM
Master Zygi deserves respect from FOS.
SKOL Worship the Vikings.
This hasn't been in the news - in fact there hasn't been a peep about it - but those of us who live in Santa Clara note that the $950 million in loans were supposed to fund by the end of April. It's now the end of May and there's no information about the loans. One would assume that given the media fawning over the Santa Clara stadium project (that would be you, San Jose Mercury News, and you, San Francisco Chronicle, and you, Santa Clara Weekly) that funding of the loans to really start construction would have been trumpeted. But there's been not a peep. So what's happening with the loans? One would assume that the lenders would require actual information about how the personal seat license and naming rights sales are going, not like the information that's actually been presented to the citizens of Santa Clara, whose agency is actually taking on the $950 million in loans. We don't get any real information, just hype coming out of the city council stadium majority and the 49ers consultants.
Posted by SantaClaraTaxpayer on May 28, 2012 09:43 PM
For the few who "want" the A's (as in a daze) to stay in Oakland, Lew-Lew's latest chirping is the equivalent to a famous headline: Lew to City - DROP DEAD.
Over and over again he spouts his SJ or bust rehoritic that generates heat but no light. He knows that the BART crowd does not spend as much per opening than he assumes the car trade will in the south bay. Pay up or lose out.
Funny thing is that he got no where else to go or else he'd use it as a bargining chip. How 'bout Mexico City?