Stadium build thread

[Raptorman]

Ok, so my understanding is that they sent out e-mails to people to gauge the possibility of PSL's. Not that they were going to put them into play. If enough people tell them to pound sand then they won't do it.

The Governor on the other hand really has no leg to stand on. It was in the bill he signed. If he didn't know it, shame on him.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Ok, so my understanding is that they sent out e-mails to people to gauge the possibility of PSL's. Not that they were going to put them into play. If enough people tell them to pound sand then they won't do it.

The Governor on the other hand really has no leg to stand on. It was in the bill he signed. If he didn't know it, shame on him.

im not big on Dayton on this whole stadium thing, but I dont think hes going to let up, nor is he to blame. I dont think its clear cut. The Wilfs will end up putting up more, not the fans. I knew this mess wasnt over.

[glg]

This isn't a new development. It was agreed upon.

Mark Dayton, you already approved PSLs
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_ ... roved-psls

Seifert is misreading that legislation. Yes, PSL's are possible, but the right to sell them belongs exclusively to the stadium authority, not the Vikings. The stadium authority that is 3 members appointed by Dayton, 2 by Rybak. Odds of the stadium authority deciding to sell PSL's would appear to be a snowball's chance in hell.

[Eli]

How do PSLs work? Is that a one-time fee for the rights to buy season tickets, or is it a yearly fee? Are they charged per seat or per buyer?

[glg]

How do PSLs work? Is that a one-time fee for the rights to buy season tickets, or is it a yearly fee? Are they charged per seat or per buyer?

usually it's one-time (though payment plans may be available to stretch it out) and it's per seat.

[Sutsgold]

I am a long time season ticket holder. Our tickets used to be in the corner behind a post. We have moved a couple of seats every year and are now on the 50. Been very loyal, good years and bad, we have bought our tickets. I am not a business owner, nor do I use them for any corporate type of promotion or to enhance my job in any way. PSLs will force me to stop buying season tickets. It will make my tickets corporate, and get rid of the diehard fan. I am not alone on this. I hope other true fans are speaking out against psl and sbl just like I did on my survey. What makes the vikings great are the diehard fans, not the fan that uses the corporate tickets to take an out of state client to the game.

Either way, I hope the vikings ownership makes some type of formal announcement as to whether there will be a psl charge prior to next season. I would hate to be tricked into buying season tickets the next two years only to lose them once we go to the new stadium because of a surprise sbl.


Just my opinion.

[dead_poet]

The middleman in PSL debate

Thanks to those of you who participated in Tuesday's SportsNation chat. One of your questions merited a follow-up, mostly because it pointed out an important nuance in Tuesday's post on the potential for personal seat licenses (PSLs) at the Minnesota Vikings' new stadium.

As we noted, Gov. Mark Dayton threatened to scuttle the deal if the Vikings proceeded with such plans. We noted Dayton has already signed legislation that permits the sale of PSLs and explicitly allows the Vikings to use the proceeds toward their $477 million share of the project.

There is one detail I didn't emphasize enough, however. The stadium bill leaves the final decision not with the Vikings or Dayton, but instead with the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFC) -- the public entity in charge of designing, constructing and operating the stadium. The Vikings would act as a selling and marketing agent only after a plan is approved by the MSFC.

That fact prompted this exchange in our chat:

Jeff S (Hutchinson MN)

Saw your response on the Vikings PSLs. I don't think they'll happen with the letter that Dayton sent. The legislation says that the Authority has the exclusive right to sell licenses. Given that the Authority has 3 Dayton appointees and 2 from the City of Minneapolis...well, Dayton's opinion would seem to have a lot of pull in the decision of the Authority to issue PSLs. Think this will be a roadblock for the Vikings?

Kevin Seifert (2:10 PM)

That's a fair point and one that is worth circling back on. It's hard to know how the Authority would split the "tie" if it comes to that. But the larger point, to me, is that Dayton is protesting a possibility he accepted when he signed the bill.

Jeff is correct. Dayton appointed a majority of the five-member board, including the chair, Michele Kelm-Helgen, a former Dayton staffer. The board is supposed to be independent of political influence, but in the real world we know there is no such thing.

To be clear, I have no reason to advocate for PSLs. I just think it's pretty transparent on Dayton's part to express outrage at something he has already accepted in negotiations. Moreover, like it or not, PSLs were an inevitable consequence of a new stadium if you follow professional sports trends. PSLs are a proven revenue driver in professional sports markets, including the Twin Cities, and it was naïve to think this issue wouldn't arise.

I won't begin to predict what the MSFC will decide, but to me this is no different than buying a house with an unfinished basement. If you didn't factor in the cost of what it would take to finish the basement in your financial planning, that's on you. Unfortunately, PSLs are the unfinished basements of stadium financing. I would be surprised if they don't surface in some form in the final analysis.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_ ... psl-debate

[CalVike]

$10,000/seat times 10,000 seats equals $100,000,000

Vikings will never drop this, nor will Goodell let them.

But Dayton may have the upper hand because of how the legislation is written, with the authority in control. All the issues being raised now including the tax avoidance issue I recall came up in the debate. The difference now, of course, is that all chambers are controlled by one party so amendments/roadblocks in theory can be put in place much easier than the original bill.

[Eli]

$10,000/seat

Holy ****. Seriously?

[CalVike]

Holy ****. Seriously?

Minneapolis is not the Silicon Valley, but the 49ers apparently raised $670MM between their suites and seat licenses for their new stadium. I am quite sure Lester Bagley and the Wilfs are salivating at the chance to gouge Minnesotans in a similar fashion for the wonderful new stadium. Take a look at this article in the San Jose Mercury News. They got from $2,000 to $80,000 per license.

http://www.mercurynews.com/southbayfoot ... -seats-new

[thatguy]

Sooooo all this nonsense between Dayton and the Vikings isn't going to hurt this stadium process in the end...is it?

[CalVike]

Sooooo all this nonsense between Dayton and the Vikings isn't going to hurt this stadium process in the end...is it?

I would not be so sure. Dayton was overtly public and defiant with rhetoric about not building at all rather than a "rich people's stadium" when these discussions could have happened privately.

[PurpleMustReign]

Out of curiosity, what does Dayton care about this?

[Demi]

Out of curiosity, what does Dayton care about this?

Because he spent a lot of political capital to work out a deal, and after it was said and done, and the taxpayers paying more than half, the team decided to charge the fans more than was agreed on in the deal. (Licenses were in the deal, but the numbers don't appear to have been set up with them in mind)

It's part of his job as an elected official to do what's best for the people of the state. (Or suppose to be). And it's nice to see him at least putting some pressure on the Vikings, even if he can't do anything about it directly.

And as far as the other question, it seems to be posturing more than anything. He talked big but Vikings aren't doing anything they aren't allowed to do as part of the deal. There's nothing Dayton can do. The deal is the deal.

[thatguy]

Hey guys.

The Vikings and a marketing group has created a survey intended to get feedback from Vikings ticket purchasers about the stadium project, so if you want to make your opinion heard about what you want in the new stadium, now's your chance! It has a lot to do with PSL's, so if you're strongly opposed to the idea, you can let them know!

https://survey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6mzOhEz8g6J06fX

SKOL