Lets get the stadiums built; Central teams make additions; Douggies baseball

From the Seats, January 9, 2005

MINNEAPOLIS - As requested I have posted this editorial, and agree with it, lets make the 11th season of stadium discussions its last. Here is the article:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tribe and Sox add players

MINNEAPOLIS - The White Sox added Pierzynski later this past week, and on Saturday the Indians added Kevin Millwood for a year. The Tribe now has a solid 1-2 punch, although their bullpen still remains a questions. No matter what though, the Tribe and White Sox are making efforts to give the Twins the best run of their money yet.

 

Doug Mientkiewicz - I have faith

MINNEAPOLIS - Not much from Doug himself has been said since the issue of him having the World Series ball. And how Doug says stuff hasn't been taken into count, as often times what he says can be misunderstood in papers. I highly doubt that Doug will end up keeping the baseball.

The Red Sox still have to ask for the ball back, they have to ask Doug himself. I have faith he will do what is write with it. And keeping it is not what is right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editorial: Stadiums/Ten years of talk is enough

January 8, 2005 ED0108

Ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away, which pretty much explains why the stadiums debate now enters its 11th season at the Legislature. Minnesotans are a deliberative bunch, and bully for that. But failing repeatedly to produce a stadiums solution when times were flush has made success much harder now that times are tough.

Challenges over the budget, taxes, health care, education and transportation will push any talk of stadiums to the end of the session, and rightly so. But at some point this spring the Legislature should initiate a chain of events that results in new homes for the University of Minnesota football team, the Twins and, eventually, the Vikings.

Yes, yes. We've heard many times how government has no proper role in sports, especially the professional kind. That would be true in an ideal world, but that's not the world in which we live. Sports are an important part of our culture and of our competitive posture nationally. Market forces nationwide dictate a combination of private-public financing on stadium projects.

Public bonds have covered 70 percent of the cost of the last 15 ballparks built and 60 percent of the cost of the last 21 football stadiums built -- although the clear trend in both sports is toward higher team contributions.

Under this pattern, the Twins might reasonably be expected to pay one-third the cost of a new ballpark, as long as they are able to pick the location, and the Vikings might be expected to finance 40 to 50 percent of their new home.

It's sad that the politicians and teams have so repeatedly fumbled a solution, given the Metrodome's clear obsolescence. Costs have doubled during a decade of bickering.

Perhaps the University of Minnesota can lead all parties out of this morass. Alumni have pledged to pay 60 percent of the cost of a $235 million on-campus stadium. The Legislature this session should commit bonds to cover the remaining cost. Lawmakers should stipulate that the Vikings may play on the Gophers field while the Metrodome is remodeled, if that's a solution acceptable to a new Vikings owner.

Meanwhile, the Legislature should finally solve the Twins' problem this session by fixing flaws in the ballpark law passed in 2002. That bit of folly excluded Hennepin County, the only local government large enough to forge a public-private financial partnership with the Twins. House Speaker Steve Sviggum says a ballpark can be built without state revenues. If so, he should instruct his committees to treat Hennepin County's commissioners with respect, not derision, when they testify. Legislators should be grateful that the state's largest county has stepped forward on this issue.

For their part, the Twins should drop their "site neutral" pretense and make clear their location preference. In our view, the Warehouse District site is superb. A ballpark would be nestled among new and restored lofts and cafes at the junction of two rail transit lines and two freeways, with 7,500 ramped parking spots already in place. It doesn't get any better.

Sports stadiums can't be among this Legislature's top priorities, but time is running out, particularly on the Twins. After 10 years of talking, a solution shouldn't be so difficult.