I have been in the metrodome before, but not for a football game. Tax payers shouldn't have to help pay for stadiums. The Vikings can pay for it themselves.
As long as they get to keep the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue they create for the Twin Cities on game weekends, I have no issue with that.
Name another event in the twin cities where 80k people show up a day in advance, book up most of the hotel rooms, buy on average $250 per person in merchandise, pack all the restaurants, pack most of the "pay" parking lots, and gets the city national exposure...about 10 times a year.
Here's a fact for you....and I do mean fact. A Viking home weekend generates $28 million in tax revenue for the city of Minneapolis (this only Minneapolis not suburbs or St Paul). No other event the city has generates half of that. So those people spending their money you say? Yeah, they aren't spending it elsewhere. So it ain't the same.
If the Vikings weren't here, people would spend their money on other things, which would generate taxes also. You do realize how many years it will take the taxes from the Vikings games to make up for what the tax payers had to pay now?
Yes, that's easy. 5 years if you take jobs created, tax revenue and exposure. For a stadium that has a life expectancy of 20 years +, I call that a good investment.
Look, I helped design the Gopher stadium and it's already paid for its self. I've been in all the studies.
The argument "they would just spend their money on other things" is the biggest cop out ever. "If the Vikings weren't here....." Is another cop out. If the sky was red and the grass was purple, we would call trees telephones. I can make up stupid hypotheticals too.
Waiting for you to answer my question above.....what do people spend their money on like that?
Their whole season generates en estimated 26 million in taxes. Now, if you figure almost 500 million came from tax payers. That equals about 19.2 years until the amount of tax payer money is paid back.
Your not factoring in the revenue generated by restaurants, bars, hotels, parking lots, tee shirt shops, etc. Those business's all pay taxes and employ local people.
We have a creap state here. We should of bought the Vikings like green bay did. Sold stock shares. Now all we're going to get is the super bowl the x games and more. Yes business will make money but that doesn't put money in my pocket.
Us the people will never see the benefits of the stadium cause politician will be raising or tax along the way.
The guys I know that went to the open house said it was "jaw dropping"
On the bright side it will be a pretty place for the Vikings to lose inn
Yes business will make money but that doesn't put money in my pocket.
Us the people will never see the benefits of the stadium cause politician will be raising or tax along the way.
Yes, key word is "from the stadium". Covers everything sold in and on the stadium grounds. Does not cover bars, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, malls and other venues in the Cities.
Again, we studied all this we planning and designing the Gopher stadium.
People don't need a football team to go to all the other places listed. I went to bar/restaurant this morning to have breakfast. Did I need a stadium to do that? Nope. Same goes for the rest of the things you listed. Did you have a hand in designing/planning for the new stadium?
What about your neighbour that has a hot dog stand or a food truck? What about the kid down the street that sells peanuts and beer at the stadium... That same kid that is selling peanuts and beer could be putting himself through university. What about the single mom who works as a server in the suites? She might put her kids through school based on the tips she makes at these events/football games. I don't think the tax payers should foot the entire bill, but a little supplemental tax dollars won't hurt. I would sooner see my tax dollars going to a stadium than to a bunch of immigrants or getting sent to another country to "help".
There's a lot of what ifs about this subject. There's nothing wrong with having a stadium, but it should be the Vikings paying for it. They have the money. I would much rather see everyone pay less taxes and for the government to quit giving it away like it's free.
I'll start off by saying I'm a huge believer in the thought that governments need to stay out of big business. Whether it be joint ventures, guaranteed loans or bailouts, they continually prove they are inept and controlling other people's money.
People calculating figures for the justification of any publicly funded endeavour will use figures specifically supporting their cause. In this case, they take into account the people spending a few hundred dollars on a game and assumes that if they weren't at the game they'd be hiding under their beds and not spending anything. If you really believe that any professional sports stadium anywhere had a factual and complete operational revenue to cost study done either before or after, I've got a bridge to sell you.
In many cases you can make the figures look like anything you want to. You can bet the that the players and owners certainly get their money back in record time.
If this was such a money maker you can bet your ass that the NFL would own the stadiums themselves under some holding company within their tax-free organizational status. As a group, they already have the resources to do this on their own. And the banks would be first in line behind them to benefit.
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