We need a new stadium.

[Sandmannd]

To play devils advocate here. What happens when we loose the team for lack of stadum? What about all the jobs the dome creates? What about all the bars/resturaunts in that area? What about the taxes we get when players play here in MN? Believe it or not, they do help the economy quite a bit.

[croixflats]

Don't people realize that the viking generate revenue for the state?

That argument only goes so far.Why don't they just use the tax that is already there for the dome,the Dome is paid for.

Building another stadium wont help diddly if Ziggy is not interested in winning championships. This state does not have a big enough market to support an annual losing team along with all the others. And I will not go to a game in the cities if not easy to get to or easy to park.

I say let them go and no more throwing money at these over paid players.

If they leave something else will fill the void for the revenue lost always has and always will. I don't believe in subsidizing businesses. If they are going to do that then where is my cut. I could use a new dump truck or bobcat are you willing to subsidise that for me.

[zepman]

I say we need to find a way to get this done. Someone will fill the creativity void here and come up with something that is going to work for everyone.

[toughguy]

Build it without a roof (to save 1/3 of the cost) and tax me. To me it's worth it. My tax dollars go to arts and theater and many other things that I don't use or care about. I don't mind paying for the vikings. They give me hours of entertainment and great memories each year. Put a sales tax on the entire state and pay for the thing as quickly as possible to reduce the interest expense. You can complain about how the NFL is blackmailing us all you want to. It is what it is. There is no changing the situation. Pay up like almost every other city in the NFL or lose the team. If you don't care if we lose the team that's fine. That's your opinion. Just don't cry when they're gone. I want them to stay and I am willing to pay for it. To me $10-$40 per year is worth the amount of entertainment they give me.

[Brian H]

Build it without a roof (to save 1/3 of the cost) and tax me. To me it's worth it. My tax dollars go to arts and theater and many other things that I don't use or care about. I don't mind paying for the vikings. They give me hours of entertainment and great memories each year. Put a sales tax on the entire state and pay for the thing as quickly as possible to reduce the interest expense. You can complain about how the NFL is blackmailing us all you want to. It is what it is. There is no changing the situation. Pay up like almost every other city in the NFL or lose the team. If you don't care if we lose the team that's fine. That's your opinion. Just don't cry when they're gone. I want them to stay and I am willing to pay for it. To me $10-$40 per year is worth the amount of entertainment they give me.

Hmmm, $10-$40 per year. You must be watching on TV, you can barely park downtown for $40. Fact is Ziggy and the NFL must make us pay. They have extorted the money just about everywhere else and they can't let the bumpkins in Minnesota get away without paying.

Three years ago when Sid was harping that the Twins needed their stadium and $350 million was a cheap and reasonable price I laughed. At that time I said we the taxpayers would be on the hook for 2 BILLION taxpayer dollars before this ended. Twins, U of M football stadium, Vikings stadium! Oh, don't forget the poor people of St. Paul who have had their property taxes jump to pay for the Wilds playpen. Furthermore............if you don't think Glen Taylor will have his hand out for Target Center money after the Vikings are done you are living under a rock.

Pony up or let them go, there is no economic proof that you can spend 2 BILLION taxpayer dollars and get a return in 20 years. I'm a Twins fan and I'm glad to see them stay. I will never set foot into their stadium but I will pay for it just the same as season ticket holders.

Vikings, I'd be more then willing to watch them on TV where ever they end up.

[toughguy]

Here is my math.....

$1B for a retractable roof stadium - 1/3 to build it without a roof = 660,000,000. - $250,000,000 from Ziggy/NFL = $410,000,000 state $$ / 5,000,000 minnesotans = $82. Take that over a few years and those that spend more $$ in the state pay more for the stadium. (rich pay more) It sucks to have every minnesotan pay on average $82. I totally agree. But to me it's worth it. I donesn't have to be worth it to you but it is to me. It's about what it costs to go to one game. I don't go to Viking games (unless I get free tickets) but I am willing to pay this much to insure that the team will be here at least another 30-40 years so that I can see them lose another 4 superbowls.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I still vote for keeping them in the dome now, they will have no competition in 2 years, so they should get all the revenue right? Not the right economy to be asking for state $ IMO

[Sandmannd]

No it's not the right time to ask for money but for me it's a little selfish. I want them to stay here. I would rather pay for the stadium than all the dang arts anyway.

[kr8r.tom]

the mille lacs band offered to build it for free with no taxpayer money if they could put a casino in it. the liberals declined the offer and decided the taxpayers should pay for it, five years later the price has doubled.

[snoozebutton]

the mille lacs band offered to build it for free with no taxpayer money if they could put a casino in it.

If they did that, I'd go to a Vikings game or two and I'm a Packer fan. I think it would be fun to play a little blackjack while waiting for the traffic to clear after a game.

[Brian H]

the mille lacs band offered to build it for free with no taxpayer money if they could put a casino in it. the liberals declined the offer and decided the taxpayers should pay for it, five years later the price has doubled.

I doubt that offer was ever made. I maybe wrong.

Interesting that the "Liberals" declined. Sure it wasn't the commies that turned it down? Or maybe the conservatives? Or maybe it was just somebody who had a legit reason? Why did they have to have a political persuasion?

Anyway, you would have a massive lawsuit and war between the tribes (Prior Lake & Mille Lacs) over who got all the white mans money.

We will keep things simple, Ziggy will get his new stadium and we will pay for it. Nice huh?

[KMR85]

Hmmm, $10-$40 per year. You must be watching on TV, you can barely park downtown for $40.

I have never paid more than $10 for parking in downtown Minneapolis...ramp or lot. I have gone to numerous events at the dome and downtown and parked within 3 blocks and never paid over $10 to park.

[Sandmannd]

Three blocks from the dome for $10 during a vikes game? I'd like to find that lot. All other events I agree on that price, but I've never seen them below $20 for a Viking game.

[zamboni]

Don't people realize that the viking generate revenue for the state?

Thats great. I am almost 34, and still waiting for my first check

[KMR85]

Well memory loss has been known to occur with me, but I am fairly certain I didn't pay $20+ to park when I went to the game against the Texans. If so I think I would rememer it plain as day since it would have made me very

[Wadinator]

I think I paid $40 to park in the lot straight north of the Dome 2-3 blocks away) when we went up to the Vikes/Packers game in 2007.

[fishyguy]

Vikings games generate a ton of revenue. The players get taxed for every game played here. Those overpaid players some whine about are paying millions in taxes when that play here. That includes the visiting players. Jobs pay taxes, concessions pay taxes, tickets pay taxes, liquor tax is about 9%. How much liquor is consumed on a game day that wouldn't be consumed if it was not for the game? Probably too much but it generates revenue. Will this money be spent elsewhere? Probably, but where? In another county, state, country? It is a catch 22. Your taxes are going up no matter what. Do you want to pay $40 a year to keep the team or $30 a year to replace what tax revenue is lost? Yes, I made those numbers up but the point is the same. The pricipal of it all annoys me to subsidize a business but the reality is that if we don't subsidize or give tax breaks to Target, Wal-Mart, 3M or any other business they may not be here. It happens everyday with theaters, museums, big business, small business, non-profits, etc. Why should a sports team be looked at differently than any other business? It should be looked at as a business decision for our city and state, not about who it is. If it makes financial sense, we need to build a stadium today. If not, let 'em go.

My question is for either side. Why won't the proponents or advocates ever put out the simple balance sheet of the stadium revenue? It should really make for a simple decision point.

[fishyguy]

Oh, don't forget the poor people of St. Paul who have had their property taxes jump to pay for the Wilds playpen.

Brian,

Since you live in Princeton don't speak for us poor suffering folk in St. Paul. First, educate yourself on what you speak. It is a sales tax of .5% that is paying for the Wild's playpen, not our property taxes. Our property taxes have gone up like every other cities because of the deficits the states and cities are seeing. It would be worse if not for the arena and its revenue. Second, as someone who hands people invoices or bills with that extra .5% sales tax on there hundreds of times a month I have yet to hear a complaint about it. Yet I see thousands of people coming to St. Paul, a minimum of 40+ games a year for the Wild, dozens of days a year for concerts, a few days for sports shows, a couple weeks of tounaments, WCHA Final Five, home and garden shows, etc.. All these people are eating, drinking, staying in hotels, shopping, renting cars and spending money. You will see very, very few politicians, business owners, or residents of St. Paul say that arena was a bad decision.

[treble]

I paid $10 to park, 3 or 4 blocks away from the dome, for the Eagles game a month ago. I saw signs for $15 and $20 parking, but no $40 parking lots that I saw. Plus getting out and on to 394 after the game was surprisingly easy. Now I don't know how the parking is at every other stadium in the country is, but I look at it as a part of the experience. I don't see how it can be easy parking for 60,000 to 70,000 fans trying to get in and out of one building anywhere. I went to a game in Denver last year, and we road a train in to the stadium, so that worked out well for us, but where we got off we still had to walk a couple of blocks, and I went to a Huskers game a couple of years ago and we had to walk a lot farther to that stadium than any Vikings or Twins game I have ever been to. The Dome isn't the only place where you have to walk a little ways to the stadium and take a little time to get out of when you leave.

[zamboni]

Should put a toll up on 36 and I94 and toll Wisconsin residents working in Minnesota only. That would pay for alot of junk needed here.

[toughguy]

Should put a toll up on 36 and I94 and toll Wisconsin residents working in Minnesota only. That would pay for alot of junk needed here.

Wouldn't that be nice if we could do it. The wife and I call them job poachers.

[goblueM]

Yeah, and then they'd fire back by creating a toll going the other way when we go there for beer runs

Lets not start a war we can't win

[toughguy]

We can always change our liquor store hours. They can't generate the jobs we have here no matter how hard they try.

[Scott K]

But I have a cabin there, I dont need them charging me to go to my cabin, more then they already do! Plus the beer thing

[KMR85]

sell it and buy one in MN