Thread: A stadium deal in 2008 is slim and anorexic - 2007 a non-issue

[size=13pt]Stadium Non-Issue...Now [/size]

By John Holler

Posted May 21, 2007

Just how high is the cost of a stadium going to be by 2009? 1-1/2 to 2 billion?

The legislature didn't pass it last year when it was roughly 600 million, wouldn't even discuss it this year & thought it was too expensive & next year is probably out because it's an election year.

I expect the cost to be nearly triple what it was bid at in 2006 by 2009 & see my hopes diminishing that it will ever get passed.

The only way I see it ever getting done is if Wilf & some investors front the entire cost themselves.

If the legislature balked at the idea of passing on some of the cost of a 600 million dollar stadium to the taxpayers, what makes anyone believe they will buy into a stadium that costs over 1 billion dollars?

there's gonna have to be some.. public/private joining party..
and this will bring some kinda commercial theme to the stadium package.

I'm sure if pushed Wilf will find support from some $$ friends back home and they'll make a commercial center in the middle of st paul. then when the city wants to get inside that for financial reasons they'll be left out in the cold.

if the hole renovate the area thing goes.. look for more tax dollars. if it goes fully private funding.. watch for the battle to come.. or the move that might happen instead.


DiGiTaL

"singersp" wrote:

I expect the cost to be nearly triple what it was bid at in 2006 by 2009 & see my hopes diminishing that it will ever get passed.

You have hopes left to diminish?
You have to admit, your spin on these stadium articles is generally laced with gloom and doom.

=Z=

"Zeus" wrote:

"singersp" wrote:

I expect the cost to be nearly triple what it was bid at in 2006 by 2009 & see my hopes diminishing that it will ever get passed.

You have hopes left to diminish?
You have to admit, your spin on these stadium articles is generally laced with gloom and doom.

=Z=

Please then, enlighten me with the positive aspects.

I happen to see it as gloomy, because that is what it is.

"singersp" wrote:

"Zeus" wrote:

"singersp" wrote:

I expect the cost to be nearly triple what it was bid at in 2006 by 2009 & see my hopes diminishing that it will ever get passed.

You have hopes left to diminish?
You have to admit, your spin on these stadium articles is generally laced with gloom and doom.

Please then, enlighten me with the positive aspects.

I happen to see it as gloomy, because that is what it is.

At this time a year ago, the Vikings had pushed a plan which the Wilf's did not favor but made the best of, farther through the legislature than Red ever did.
When that ultimately failed, they sat back and re-thought the options.

While they did that, the Army CoE pops in with the wetlands stuff, the locals start badgering for more money and generally, the Anoka deal starts to smell like dog poo.
So the Wilf's bail.

Now they look around and see downtown and all the transportation which is already there and say, hmmm.
And so they think.
And meet with the MSC and think and meet and plan and hire a design group and *boom* a new plan emerges, but the 2007 legislative session is already going, so it's not likely to be ready to go anywhere.

So they do the smart thing which is to present the plan and get people talking about it, but they don't try to smash it down the throats of an already wary bunch of representatives.
Instead, they start slow, building towards the 2008 session.

There are many ways to spin things.
With the stadium deal, I stand with two things, no matter what the papers might be saying:

1.
The Wilf's made their fortunes building things, so they understand the


complexities and intracacies of making big deals.

2.
The Wilf's are football fans who understand the emotional connection that


a team has with a city/region.

I never thought anything was going to get done this year and anyone who did doesn't understand the glacial nature of these things.
I'm not worried in the slightest.

=Z=

If a Vikings stadium deal was going to get passed, it more than likely would have been in an odd-numbered year…at least in Minnesota. In the next legislative session, every member of the House of Representatives is up for re-election, as is half the Senate.

Wow, Minnesota turns over their entire House and half the Senate every other year? Or is it just how 2008 happened to play out?

This definately throws another wrinkle into the equation, but I am sure Wilf has dealt with similar wrinkles before.
A little bit of campaign donations and lobbying for the right candidates could go a long way...

"Zeus" wrote:

There are many ways to spin things.
With the stadium deal, I stand with two things, no matter what the papers might be saying:

1.
The Wilf's made their fortunes building things, so they understand the



complexities and intracacies of making big deals.

2.
The Wilf's are football fans who understand the emotional connection that



a team has with a city/region.

=Z=

There's a big dfference between building homes, businesses & retail stores with private money, than building a public stadium with tax payer dollars.

How often do you have to go in front of the legislature to get approval for building a home, buisiness or store?

"singersp" wrote:

"Zeus" wrote:

There are many ways to spin things.
With the stadium deal, I stand with two things, no matter what the papers might be saying:

1.
The Wilf's made their fortunes building things, so they understand the



complexities and intracacies of making big deals.

2.
The Wilf's are football fans who understand the emotional connection that



a team has with a city/region.

There's a big dfference between building homes, businesses & retail stores with private money, than building a public stadium with tax payer dollars.

How often do you have to go in front of the legislature to get approval for building a home, buisiness or store?

As the Wilf's built in New Jersey, I know that they must have had to deal with county boards, commissions, unions and, most likely, organized crime elements.

I don't know the history of every development project with which the Wilf's have been involved.
But you don't become billionaires by putting up a 7-11 here and there.
I'm sure they've been through many many many battles with all levels of bureauracracy.

=Z=

Wilf has one thing going for him that the Vikings simply haven't had in a long time.
They have the support of the MSC, the city of Minneapolis, and Hennepin County.

The Anoka County stadium was a good proposal.
But it never had the support it needed in the legislature.
Yet, despite that fact, Wilf managed to push it farther than anyone owner before him.
Now that Minneapolis realized how close they came to losing the Vikings to another city, they are throwing their weight into the ring.

Support for the Vikings has historically been stronger in the Senate than the House.
Hennepin County have more strength in the House than Anoka County does.
Plus, a Minneapolis location is less likely to alienate the southern metro cities - especially when they are bundling more light rail into the package.

Will it get done in '08?
Don't know.
It all really hinges on how successful the Vikings are this season.
If we make a strong playoff run, don't be surprised if Wilf comes out with guns blazing.
Media campaigns, political support in an election year, promise of more development money (he still has that $1 billion to invest you know).
Wilf knows that he needs to ride the Vikings to be the gem of Minnesota Sports again in order to get the stadium built.

I think Wilf has the patience to wait a few years if need be.
And I have faith that he will get it done.