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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
E-maiil update
Vikings stadium push dealt a setback; unallotment decision issued
Neighbor-
The House Government Operations Committee this morning voted 10-9 against a Minnesota Vikings stadium bill. The vote means the bill will not be sent on to other committees at this time. I voted in favor of moving the bill on to the Rules Committee because it had no tax implications for rural Minnesota.
The bill our committee saw this morning provided a framework for financing the stadium, estimated to cost around $800 million with a fixed roof. The funding mechanism put forward was to transfer levy payments from the Minneapolis Convention Center when they are paid off to fund the new stadium. An earlier proposal that would have taxed car rentals, hotels, and sports memorabilia in the seven-county metro area was taken out of the bill during a hearing last night.
A member of the Minneapolis City Council testified that the city is very protective of its Convention Center. She said that it provides four times the economic impact that the Vikings football team does. And the way this bill is drafted, according to the council member, it cuts off the city's ability to provide ongoing support to the Convention Center in terms of upkeep and capital improvements.
Lester Bagley, vice-president of the Vikings, testified that the team is at the bottom of the National Football League in terms of revenue. He side-stepped a question when asked if the Legislature had to act this year in order to keep the team from moving to another city.
Steve Poppin, the team's CEO, testified that the team lost money from operations both this year and last year. He said that when the team was purchased in 2005 by the Wilf family the purchase price was $600 million. Poppin added that the team has not been appraised since that time, so he didn't have an exact current value for the team, although estimates place it around the $800 million mark.
The bill's future at this point is unknown.
Also announced this morning was the Supreme Court ruling against the Governor in the unallotment case. That means his $2.7 billion in cuts done after the session ended last summer were unconstitutional.
It could be a long summer here at the Capitol if we go back and re-do last year's budget, in addition to cutting $1 billion from the current budget.
Sincerely,
Paul
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