[Mpls] Timberwolves win (why don't you care?)

[Leurquin, Ronald]

Mark
While I am not a sports fan, I am glad to have the teams here.
The present site in Mpls is probably the greatest spot for a stadium, except maybe for the incinerator close by and the crying we will hear about it after the stadium is built (just my prediction).
No one has been able to explain to me why this stadium is not a business expense that should be paid for by the team.
If its such a good thing then why not put it to a vote?
No one has been able to show me how the tax dollars invested will actually return to the taxpayers in a positive way, its all outflow of dollars and not nearly as much inflow.
If Carl wants a stadium then I want some guaranties he (or his heirs) wont pull this same thing in another 20 years.
We have complained about block E, a subsidy to those businesses.
If you think I will pay to park, and deal with downtown traffic to watch a movie when I can go to many other theatres and not have those hassles, think again.
We have complained about the downtown Target, how Target got that on the cheap.
We have complained just recently about the handout to Allina.
When are these business subsidies going to stop?
How many more subsidies can you afford?
When should/will Mpls stop helping out the wealthy and help out the poor and homeless?
When will Carl and Red stop whining about "enough" profits?
What the heck is "enough" for a billionaire anyhow?

When homelessness and unemployment are no longer problems for Mpls I will wholeheartedly support building poor Carl a stadium for his team.  In the mean time let the rich take care of themselves.

Ron Leurquin
Nokomis East




Mark wrote:
As for the Twins, Neal St. Anthony writes about the ballpark proposal that
was put together by the owners of the Rapid Park site.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1069/4639258.html

I'm sure the anti-stadium crowd will find all sorts of faults with this, but
it looks like a pretty good deal to me. Certainly better than that pipe
dream Randy Kelly is pushing over on the other side of the river.

I also looked at that web site that Mike Hohmann posted last week. Didn't
see anything specific to stadiums or ballpark as the discussion seemed to
focus more on why local governments subsidizing retailers is bad - no
argument from me about that.

But I think any reasonable person can understand that you cannot
legitimately compare sports teams to retailers. Or even other forms of
entertainment, as many like to do. The difference with sports teams is
they're unique within the market place. If there wasn't a movie theatre in
Block E, there would still be plenty of places for me to go see a movie if I
wish. If the Twins go away, that means there's no place for me to go watch a
major league baseball game unless I want to make a road trip to Chicago or
Milwaukee.

And if we want to draw people to downtown Minneapolis, we need to feature
unique attractions. The only reason I've even seen Block E was because I
walked through it on my way to Target Center for a Timberwolves game. Since
then, I've stopped there a few times for pre-game meals or a post-game beer,
though I prefer Rock Bottom, which is along a different skyway route from
where I park. 

But, I'm not going to go to a movie at Block E because I can wait for the
DVD to come out. Someone in Maple Grove or Eagan won't go see a movie at
Block E because they've got perfectly good movie theatres that are a heck of
a lot closer to them. But they'll come downtown for a Timberwolves game
because that's the only place they can see them. Or a Twins game for the
same reason. My best friend from work shares my Timberwolves season tickets
with me. He's come in from Woodbury about 15-20 times so far this season for
games and socializing before or after the game. If not for the Wolves, he
wouldn't come to downtown Minneapolis at all. And he's not alone.

Pro sports teams are part of what makes downtown Minneapolis unique. Keeping
81 home games for the Twins is worth the kind of public involvement that the
Rapid Park owners propose - especially since the primary financing
mechanisms they suggest to use would go away otherwise.

Mark Snyder
Windom Park



REMINDERS:
1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at mplslist at tcq.net before continuing it on the list. 
2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.

For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html
For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
________________________________

Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:mpls at mnforum.org
Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls