REP. BARRETT CALLS ON GOV. DAYTON TO HOLD VIKINGS OWNERS ACCOUNTABLE

BARRETT INTRODUCES WORKABLE, RESPONSIBLE SOLUTION TO FUND VIKINGS STADIUM

St. Paul – State Representative Bob Barrett, R-Lindstrom, today called on Governor Mark Dayton to hold Zygi and Mark Wilf, Vikings owners, accountable and require them to make public how much they receive from personal seat licenses (PSLs) and naming rights. Barrett notes that Dayton’s enthusiasm for a New Jersey judge’s recent decision to make their finances public contradicts the fact that Dayton signed the stadium bill granting the Wilfs special privilege to bypass state public disclosure laws keeping revenue from PSLs and naming rights private.

“At the same time a New Jersey judge requires the Wilfs to disclose their finances, our Minnesota Governor is allowing the Wilfs to keep how much they are receiving from personal seat licenses, naming rights, and their NFL gift completely private so that taxpayers will never know. This needs to change, as taxpayers have the right to understand the extent to which the Wilfs will profit when these revenue sources exceed the stated $477 million stadium contribution,” Barrett said.

Over the course of the 2013 session, Barrett introduced legislation to protect hardworking taxpayers from being used as the backup funding source to build a new Vikings stadium. In light of the financial audit being conducted on the Wilfs, and the fact that e-pull tabs—the state’s funding mechanism—is coming in 95 percent lower than projected, Barrett introduced another bill during special session that would create a workable solution for funding the stadium.

“Right now, Minnesota taxpayers are on the hook for this billion dollar stadium while billionaire owners are expected to pay nothing because their contribution isn’t real but comes from sources totally separate from their own assets,” Barrett noted about the PSLs, naming rights, and their NFL gift.

Barrett continued: “Under my plan, personal seat license and naming rights revenue would not be hidden any longer by the Vikings. It would also be counted as what it is: ‘third party revenue sources’ that derive from the Minnesota and Minneapolis taxpayers paying for the building of a new stadium. Separating this from the Vikings would help in one very significant way: It would reduce the public contribution by $248 million. It would also have a secondary benefit of helping the Vikings lower their tax liability for earnings on PSLs, which should allow them to contribute more out of pocket.”

Under this plan, taxpayer funding is reduced by $248 million. The Vikings contribution drops by $277 million but becomes guaranteed by their owners. 

“Governor Dayton delayed fixing the farm repair tax and warehouse tax in yesterday’s special session because he thought that fixing an error made at the expense of Minnesota taxpayers could wait until next year,” Barrett said. “By that same logic, fixing the errors made in the stadium negotiations and funding also needs to happen next spring, also to protect Minnesota from paying hundreds of millions in unnecessary taxes. Given the price tag of the stadium, there is not a larger un-session subject to discuss next spring.”

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Rep. Barrett can be reached by phone at (651) 296-5377. He can also be contacted via e-mail at rep.bob.barrett@house.mn, or via U.S. Mail at 287 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155.