Accessibility menu
State Representative Joe Mullery
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4262
For more information contact:
E-Update
VIKINGS STADIUM BILL PROVISIONS - REQUESTING YOUR INPUT
The Vikings stadium bill provisions seem to change each hour. Here are some of the provisions and some facts of the current stadium bill.
* The State share is $398 million, the city of Minneapolis puts in $150 million, and the Vikings share is $427.
* The state will put in no money for operating expenses, Minneapolis will put in $189 million, and the Vikings $327 million. That Vikings amount includes their normal expenses of a tenant such as rent, security, upkeep, maintenance, etc. At the same time, the Vikings get monies that would normally go to the government as the owner of the stadium, such as naming rights for the stadium. Business magazines believe the Vikings will get roughly $150 million for naming rights from corporations. They will get vastly more in revenue from selling advertisements all over the stadium, but no one has estimated the value of that to the Vikings. Normally the owner of the facility gets the revenue from such advertisements.
Of all the stadiums built in the last 10 or more years, the government is putting in the second most of any stadium for construction of the Vikings facility. Including the amounts put in by the government for construction and operating expenses, this will be the biggest public contribution of any stadium.
The city of Minneapolis is actually putting in almost as much as the state; yet Minneapolis loses some property tax it now collects because more property will become tax exempt.
The state's share will supposedly come from the state's tax on charitable gambling. That money is normally allocated to the general fund, which is what pays for almost all of state government, plus schools, health and human services, etc.
A 178% increase in charitable gambling would be required to get enough money to pay the state's share. A key question is whether there will be an enormous increase in charitable gambling; if not, there will have to be another source for the state money for the stadium. One of the backup plans is to take a portion of the Hennepin County Tax which was set aside for the Twins stadium. The state would override the present law and take part of the Twins tax which is used to pay off the Twins stadium bonds and fund libraries and youth sports.
The bill also uses the proceeds from sports tip boards, which almost everyone agrees is contrary to federal law.
There are claims 8000 construction jobs could be created; about 2,500 for each of three years, and about 4000 additional, temporary jobs on Viking game days.
A major issue is the impact the financing package will have on Minneapolis. The present
half-cent sales tax, plus the food, beverage and lodging taxes in Minneapolis go to the present convention center bonds, the visitors' bureau and tourism, and are now allowed by law to go for neighborhood economic development.
After the bonds for the convention center are paid off in 2020, the Minneapolis taxes would go only for the Vikings stadium, the convention center operating expenses, and the Target center---all of which make money for the state general fund. The other major cities in Minnesota can use their local sales tax for economic development and other community needs, but Minneapolis will lose that ability under the Vikings stadium law. Moreover, if the local sales tax increases by more than 2%, a portion of that must also go to the stadium. By comparison, only 40% of the St. Paul sales tax goes to their hockey stadium; the other 60% goes to community economic development.
There are studies that show that Minneapolis does not benefit as much as other metro cities from Vikings games; for instance, most hotel rooms used are in other cities, not Minneapolis.
A recent study in Forbes magazine showed that the NFL does not want the Vikings to move, because it would mean a huge loss to the other teams. If the Vikings move, the other clubs only get about $200 million to split between them. If the NFL expands, the other clubs get to split 6 or more times that much. It also points out that the new San Francisco stadium is built with only around $50 million of public money. Likewise, the New York, San Francisco and Dallas stadiums are being built almost entirely from revenue which is going into the Vikings’ pockets under this bill, such as seat licensing, naming rights, ads, etc.
Only the Indianapolis stadium, in the last 10 or more years, is as bad for the public as is this proposal for the Vikings stadium.
The Vikings get at least $150 million from the NFL; possibly $200 million.
There is a quality of life component from a new stadium for those who go to many games. And of course, there is a small possibility that the Vikings would move if they don't get a stadium.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHETHER YOU THINK WE SHOULD PASS THE PRESENT VIKINGS PROPOSAL FOR A STADIUM.
News Items
- DFL Rep Joe Mullery On Efforts To Clean Up Foreclosure Loopholes - (Posted: Feb 21 2013 9:12AM)
- VIDEO: Minimum Wage Bill - (Posted: Jan 29 2013 1:26PM)
- Reminder: Primary - August 14; Some Voting Locations May Have Changed - (Posted: 2012-07-08 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.