Minnesota & Stadiums A Never Ending Debate

Back in the late 1950's Minnesota was looking to make the jump from an isolated farming state in the Upper Midwest to a state that was relevant nationally. Politicians and business leaders for lack of a better term or phrase wanted to make it to the big leagues. It was at that time the 1st of many stadium debates to come began & which resulted in Metropolitan Stadium being built on what is now the site of the Mall of America. The Met became the home of the MLB Minnesota Twins, formerly the Washington Senators an original American League franchise, & the expansion NFL Minnesota Vikings in 1961.

Metropolitan Stadium was last used in 1981 as both teams moved to the newly built & poorly planned Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome begnning with their 1982 seasons.The Metrodome was a disaster from the outset, a dome built in a community constantly clamoring to be outside. Minnesota is an outdoor state by nature and with a limited timeframe to enjoy the weather, being stuffed indoors was never the answer. In addition the Metrodome had insufficient restrooms for the capacity of the building, insufficient concessions and was so narrow it was hard to walk the concourses. All of this was topped by the fact it was sterile, lacked any character and did not reflect Minnesota in any way.

Despite all its failings the Metrodome has provided many memories, some good and some bad. There has been 2 World Series Championships for the Twins and several division championships. It has hosted the Super Bowl (not Vikings), Final Fours in NCAA Basketball, NBA games for the T-Wolves in the early '90's, college baseball, college football and numerous other events. All of this resulted in the dome being paid off in roughly 1/2 the scheduled time and bringing large revenue streams into the state coffers.

This isn't an article about ripping on the #biginflatabletoilet (dome) although maybe it should be as it is one of the most despised facilities in all sports. However you feel about the dome it served a purpose for awhile, but it has outlived its usefulness and lost the majority of its tenants with its lone remaining tenant homeless as it sits in disrepair due to winter storm damage. The Twins after a lengthy stadium discussion that began in 1997 finally gained approval for a new facility in 2006 with construction completed in 2010. The team played its inaugural season at the newly christened Target Field the same year.

The Twins Inaugural Season at Target Field was by all accounts a complete success and an example of how stadiums should be done and how they benefit a community. They easily surpassed 3 million in attendance for only the 2nd time in team history, the 1st being 1988 after the 1987 WS Championship when they were the 1st American League team to hit that mark. Sports Illustrated ranked Target Field (#thebullseye) #1 in all professional sports for gameday fan experience. It was 1 of 2 Minnesota facilities to crack the top 5! The other being the Xcel Energy Center at #3 behind (uggghh) Lambeau Field. Being at Target Field evokes many memories of Old Met Stadium, however its many new modern amenities and conveniences are quite evident.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers also gained approval at the same time as the Twins in 2006 although TCF Bank Stadium (#thebank) was open for business during the 2009 season. It also evokes many memories of Old Memorial Stadium which once stood proudly down the street until the U of M erred in moving to the #humptydump in 1982 with the Vikings and Twins. The new facility resembles the old, again with modern amenities and conveniences. It also was designed to handle future expansion to over 80,000 seats if needed.

This brings us to the Vikings who as mentioned have called Met Stadium which was a minor league baseball park, and the Metrodome which was a poorly planned practice field at best, their homes over a 50 year existence, neither of which was a fitting and permanent home deserving of the states most popular team. The Vikings have been fighting to get approval for a new stadium about as long as the Twins. They graciously stepped aside in 2006 at the request of the state legislature to allow for the completion of the bills for the Twins & Gophers. Had they not done so there is a chance all 3 would remain unresolved. The legislature promised the Vikings issues would be addressed at a later date which obviously remains unresolved in 2011, & just happens to be the last year of the Vikings lease in the dome.

Is is it beneficial to Minnesota? Can it be funded without using money from the states general fund or without new taxes? The answer to both questions is yes. Why though are the standards different for 1 team than they have been for all the other state teams and/or assets? Benefits to Minny and funding mechanisms will be laid out in a future post to come soon.

The basis of this article has been the stadiums and ballparks in Minnesota, however there has also been smaller ballparks and arenas for all levels of Pro/College teams. This adds even more credence to the fact the Vikings are being treated differently in this debate despite being arguably the states most popular team.

Our 2 newest stadiums/ballparks, TCF Bank Stadium & Target Field as well as the Xcel Energy Center have all been VERY beneficial to the local community and the state. They have generated lots of revenue, added lots of permament jobs and many jobs during their construction as well. They are also responsible for rejuvenating the areas in which they were built.

The time is now to find a #vikingsstadiumsolution that does benefit Minny and keeps the #vikings where they belong! The Vikings currently are responsible for $20 mil being generated & pumped into the state economy each year, not counting residual revenue streams. This number is expected to jump to $25-30 mil per year in a new stadium. That alone is a benefit not to mention all the jobs, work in the community, etc....

While there may be concerns they are by far outweighed by the benefits. This does not discount the concerns but they can be addressed through dialogue and resolution in a final bill. Lets sit down and get this done, put people to work, pump money into the economy and resolve an eyesore in Arden Hills not likely to be developed otherwise for some time, if ever.

#skolvikes