BJ Sands Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 Are the Vikings next? Anybody know what's going on with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatSleepJeep Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 The Vikings are SOL. The legislature was considering building for them in the suburb of Blaine, but then the "Love Boat" thing dropped in the press. Although the idea of getting them a new home is attractive, they've held the dome under their stranglehold since it was built. The Twins were always up in arms about the Vikings controlling the luxury boxes and other amenities(the new left field suite was unavailable to Twins and Gopher games).Plus without the Vikings, what does Minneapolis do with the HHH? There aren't enough monster truck rallies for the Metropolitan Sports Commission stay viable in there.Hopefully they'll renovate the dome in '10 when the Twins bail; get rid of the folding sections, add more of their precious boxes, replace the roof, in general make it more permanent. The whole place is a hefty bag, from the baseball fences, to the ads to the banners. It's all plastic sheeting adapted to the home tteam of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no97 Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 Congrats to the Twins fans. Quite a year for MLB on the stadium front, 3 ballparks on the way (NYY, NYM, WSH) and 3 more possibly on the way (MIN, FLA, OAK). As opposed to all those who live in Hennepin County or at least visit. Taxes like this are regressive and while minute compared to "tourist taxes" like on rental cars or hotels, it is still a tax. on this point, call me a Libertarian, but pollad could have built this himself. At over half a billion dollars, how long to they estimate for it to be paid off, even with sellouts? I know that Arlington, TX paid off Ameriquest Field (nee The Ballpark) 10 years early, but this still seems much. Look at the cost per seat, that's even more than Safeco Field.Congrats Twins fans, you children will be paying for this!Cost per seat at many new venues Dear lord, no! 3 cents on every $20 purchase! Or, for our metric friends, 15 cents on a $100 purchase! Oh my, I'm going to buy a Hummer H2 (at $50,000) - that's a whole $75 extra in taxes! Yeah, the tax payers in Hennepin county realy got the screw-job on this one... Plus, in terms of "tourist taxes," don't forget that the #1 tourest destination in the state of Minnesota is located in Hennepin County - the Mall of America, at a economic impact of approximatly $1.7 billion annually - much from out-of state. Plus, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is located in Hennepin County as well... If not for these two things, there's no way that such a small tax could work...Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no97 Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 The Vikings are SOL. Not exactly. Read this story, paragraph 16, that explains that the Twins ballpark bill leaves open a possibility for the Vikings to come back to the Legislature next year and seek funding for the Blaine stadium...Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnWis97 Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 The Vikings are SOL. The legislature was considering building for them in the suburb of Blaine, but then the "Love Boat" thing dropped in the press. Although the idea of getting them a new home is attractive, they've held the dome under their stranglehold since it was built. The Twins were always up in arms about the Vikings controlling the luxury boxes and other amenities(the new left field suite was unavailable to Twins and Gopher games).Plus without the Vikings, what does Minneapolis do with the HHH? There aren't enough monster truck rallies for the Metropolitan Sports Commission stay viable in there.Hopefully they'll renovate the dome in '10 when the Twins bail; get rid of the folding sections, add more of their precious boxes, replace the roof, in general make it more permanent. The whole place is a hefty bag, from the baseball fences, to the ads to the banners. It's all plastic sheeting adapted to the home tteam of the day. I don't think the vikes would go for that "making the dome better" scenario. Should they? Yeah. The dome is bad, but MUCH worse for baseball than football--and like you said, getting rid of the Twins, enables full Viking control--rid of the folding sections, etc. My semi-educated guess: The Vikings come up to the legislature next year. If they get funding, they stay. If not, they are gone. Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse." Â BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD POTD (Shared) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original6 Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I envy you guys! I wish the jays would get a new ballpark, the Rogers centre has no intimacy in its atmosphere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatSleepJeep Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 I don't think the Vikings will be able to extend the spending spree after the legislature steps back and sees how much they're spending on sports. Maybe if they put together a pretty big sponsorship/naming deal and the owner coughs up a bunch of dough.And I hate the fact that all these teams play the "build us a stadium or we're leaving" card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlinfan Posted May 23, 2006 Share Posted May 23, 2006 Congrats Twins fans, you children will be paying for this! Congrats Twins fans your children and their children will have MLB! 1997 | 2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no97 Posted May 24, 2006 Author Share Posted May 24, 2006 Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is set to sign the Twins ballpark bill this Friday before the Twins game against the Mariners according to this StarTribune story. The Gophers stadium bill will be signed today on campus as well, according to the same story...Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no97 Posted May 25, 2006 Author Share Posted May 25, 2006 I ment to post this before, as it was in the Monday edition, but this is a good story from the StarTribune about what the team wants in a new stadium...Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no97 Posted May 25, 2006 Author Share Posted May 25, 2006 From today's StarTrib front page comes this story - amazing, the legislature passes the ballpark, and suddenly folks wnat to develop the land around it! Amazing, who knew! Some details:-2,250 housing units, some with at least a partial view of the playing field.-230 hotel rooms, in addition to restaurants and retail.-Transit choices: an extended Hiawatha light-rail line and the proposed Northstar commuter rail would bring fans to the site.-A green-space plaza. It's a shame the on-line story doesn't include the artist renditions that the paper had...Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winghaz Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 One could call the whole area Kirby Puckett Plaza.Or bring a name from the past and call it Harmon-Kirby Plaza. (Actually, I like that better.)Of course, the ballpark itself will have to have a corporate name. But I can live with that. Kind of. Point is, the Twins are getting a new ballpark and I can't wait until 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyboy1 Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I keep waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under this deal since it's been such a long, dragged out process.After the Governor signs the bill it legalizes the Hennipen County board to vote to raise the tax. The vote to send the bill to the legislature for permission to raise the tax was 4-3 (interestingly enough, Men 4 - Women 3).The Hennipen County Board still has to vote one more time to authorize the tax increase, and I keep waiting for one of the men who voted in favor the last time to get hit by a train and replaced by someone who would then sink the entire thing and vote no without having a referendum, which would kill the whole deal.If it were up to me, I'd quarantine the members of the county board in a padded cell with no sharp objects until the voting day arrived.UPDATE: Wondering when this vote will be, i Go to my comissioner's web page and am greeted with this horrfying sight- Dude! MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!! Click here to read Third String Goalie - The Hockey Jersey of the Day Blog Click here to see my hockey and baseball jersey collection online ?You don?t like to see 20 kids punching 20 other kids. But it?s not a disgrace, It?s hockey.? - Michael Farber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EatSleepJeep Posted May 26, 2006 Share Posted May 26, 2006 The Dome's address is 34 Kirby Puckett Place. You think they'll move the street? I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no97 Posted August 30, 2006 Author Share Posted August 30, 2006 Long considered to be the final stumbling block, the Hennipin County Board voted today, authorizing the .015% sales tax to fund the County's share of the Twins new ballpark. This is a huge step for the Twins towords breaking ground...Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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