Stadium thread

[dead_poet]

The Vikings say: "Having an NFL team in Minnesota requires a stadium solution. This solution must be finalized in the 2011 session."

I think: That has the sound of a threat. And that's a mistake. Here's some advice for Vikings owner Zygi Wilf: Don't threaten the people of Minnesota, people who have been as loyal to your franchise as any collection of fans anywhere in the nation. All it does is alienate them. The economy stinks. Funding is being taken away from places it shouldn't be. If times were better, the Vikings already would have help building their stadium. Wilf and the other owners need to put aside this sense of entitlement, this feeling that a new stadium is owed to them. They will get help building one. When times are better. Here's more advice: Instead of hiring more than a dozen lobbyists, which happened during the legislative session, go get some pointers from Jerry Bell, who got Target Field built for the Twins. Bell knows his way around the Legislature, and knows how to enhance the chances of getting a new stadium.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_15120032

[dead_poet]

Poll: No tax dollars for Vikes' stadium, most Minnesotans say

A new poll shows that Minnesotans overwhelmingly don't want their tax dollars spent on a new Minnesota Vikings stadium.

The resounding thumbs-down comes in the wake of a last-gasp attempt to craft a bill that would have paid for a new stadium during the last legislative session.

The poll, conducted by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, found that 64 percent of the state's residents oppose public funding for a stadium.

Thirty percent support the idea of a taxpayer subsidy.

Even given the poll's relatively large margin of error -- plus or minus 5.8 percentage points -- that degree of opposition is "very robust and significant," according to the institute's Larry Jacobs, according to MPR.

The day after the legislative session ended earlier this month, with no stadium bill enacted, representatives of team owner Zygi Wilf issued a statement saying that a stadium funding plan has to be completed next year.

[dead_poet]

Floiro's take (for what it's worth): http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... /#comments

[PurpleMustReign]

Poll: No tax dollars for Vikes' stadium, most Minnesotans say

First, how come I never hear of any of these polls? And second, anything from MPR would almost certainly be less sports knowledgeable than, say, KFAN. I bet 80% of KFAN listeners would support it.

[CalVike]

Lesson #1 Never take a referendum on public funding of stadiums ...

#2 Put the Jerry Bell's in charge and dump the lackluster Lester Bagley's of the world ...

#3 If the Legislature says make it work in Anoka, consider making it work in Anoka (the revisionist history the Vikings are selling about the legislature committing to the stadium, any stadium, in 2006 is laughable, that plan was for Anoka County and the Vikings sold them under the river for the facade of Minneapolis with it's $10M limit on public funding; stupidity of Bagley in a nutshell) ...

#4 LA Live & Staples area will work for someone, Super Bowl / Final Four money is at stake (Roski is no longer LA's dominant player, that honor goes to Anschutz and Leiweke because the City of Industry is a laughable site for a Los Angeles stadium) ...

#5 2010 never had a chance, Pawlenty would never have supported it with his presidential bid on the line

#6 despite the dire situation above, my firm position is that the 2011 Minnesota legislature will commit to public funding of a stadium because the Vikings are Minnesota's flagship franchise and no one wants to let them go ...

[CalVike]

Interesting article in the business section of the LA Times today on the stadium situation in LA ...
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-h ... 590.column

[jackal]

I don't it will be city of industry but the vikings will have another state to play next decade
IMO

too bad I love my Minnesota trips

[dead_poet]

Vikings to add club in Metrodome

The Vikings don’t see their long-term future being at the Metrodome, but they do continue to make changes in the building that are designed at increasing their revenues on a short-term basis.

The latest project is The Gridiron Club – an eventual naming rights deal could be struck with a corporation – which will be located where the Minnesota Twins had their offices before moving to Target Field. The Gridiron Club will take up a 1,300-square foot area and occupy the upper level of the Twins’ former office space, meaning customers will have a view of the plaza outside the stadium but won’t be able to see the playing field.

Steve LaCroix, the Vikings’ chief marketing officer, said the team has not started selling memberships yet but is looking at capping the number at 150. Members first will have to be season-ticket holders at Mall of America Field. (The Vikings sold about about 55,000 season tickets in 2009.)

Those fans would pay an additional $2,500 above what they are paying for season tickets in order to become members. The cost would cover food and drinks, including beer and wine, but not hard liquor.

LaCroix said the Gridiron Club will have “all the latest technology,” give patrons access to “The Sunday Ticket” so they could keep up with other games and also include video games. Private restrooms also will be built. The club will be open before, during and after games.

A rough estimate puts the potential for new revenue at about $300,000. That is significant for the Vikings given the lack of revenues they currently generate at the stadium – a primary reason they are seeking a new playing venue.

The Vikings other efforts to add value in the Metrodome have included taking out eight suites in two sections of the stadium to build two clubs, selling naming rights to certain gates and selling naming rights to the Mall of America to sponsor the field.

“This would be a short-term benefit for us from a revenue standpoint,” LaCroix said of this latest addition. “It does not create a stadium solution or satisfy things for the long term. But it would help bridge the gap for the next couple of years to add an amenity that we feel fits into the area and something we didn’t have from a hospitality offering standpoint.”

The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which runs the Metrodome, is investing about $700,000 to build the Gridiron Club.

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/Access ... cQ_8ciaXUU



Somebody please explain to me how spending $700,000 to make $300,000 makes sense. Unless that estimated $300,000 is per year. In which case it stands to reason the max you could hope for is $600,000 (give or take) before the lease runs out. Is the foreshadowing that the Vikes might be playing at the Metrodome one a year-by-year basis going forward until a new stadium is built? I'm kinda scratching my head at this move. Especially if you can't even see the game from the "club." Though it does sound like it could be a pretty sweet place to go before and after the game. If you've got the $2,500 to spend.

Edit: never mind. It's the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission footing the bill.

[glg]

So with the 2014 super bowl being in New York; if the Vikings build an outdoor stadium dose this give them a chance in hell of getting a super bowl with no roof?

No.

[PurpleMustReign]

No.

I don't understand the NY Super Bowl, other than more of the Media/sports world wanting another reason to gush over NY for a few weeks.

[glg]

I don't understand the NY Super Bowl, other than more of the Media/sports world wanting another reason to gush over NY for a few weeks.

If there's one city in the country that's worth gushing over, it's New York.

[Raptorman]

If there's one city in the country that's worth gushing over, it's New York.

Been there done that. Nothing to really gush over in my book. Besides, the stadium is in New Jersey not New York. And what is directly around the New stadium? Nothing. Empty land and industrial parks.

[glg]

Been there done that. Nothing to really gush over in my book. Besides, the stadium is in New Jersey not New York. And what is directly around the New stadium? Nothing. Empty land and industrial parks.

You think any of the stuff all week is going to be in Jersey? Not so much. I wouldn't be surprised at all if media day is in MSG instead of the new Meadowlands.

[Raptorman]

You think any of the stuff all week is going to be in Jersey? Not so much. I wouldn't be surprised at all if media day is in MSG instead of the new Meadowlands.

I'm sure it will be. Don't get me wrong, New York is a nice place to visit. I visit my sister every couple of years in NYC. To me, there's not any more to do there than say Miami or Tampa. Especially in the winter. Never saw the big attraction. JMO

[dead_poet]

This just chaps my ####.

Santa Clara voters approve new stadium for 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers will get a new stadium in Santa Clara.

Although results are still coming in, the early returns were enough for the San Francisco Chronicle to project that Santa Clara voters approved Measure J, the plan to build a new stadium. The voting margin appears to be about 60 percent in favor and 40 percent opposed.

"It looks good," 49ers President Jed York said Tuesday night. "This is a big step. . . . We look to be playing football in a new stadium in 2014."

Now that the voters have committed $114 million of taxpayer money, York said he's confident that the 49ers can come up with the rest, and the entire project -- from groundbreaking through the first game -- will be done in four years.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... for-49ers/

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I guess the economic climate in California is significantly better than in Minnesota.