News Cut: October 21, 2011 Archive

The Dollar Dome?

Posted at 7:37 AM on October 21, 2011 by Eric Ringham (4 Comments)
Filed under: Politics, Sports

Does it make sense to sell the Metrodome to the Vikings for a dollar? According to the Star Tribune, that's what state Sens. John Marty and Linda Runbeck will propose today. The unlikely pairing of the liberal Marty and conservative Runbeck is eye-catching all by itself. It's like sending out former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to collect money for Haiti.

The sold-for-a-dollar strategy is often used for distressed properties. Newsweek was sold for a dollar. TV Guide was sold for a dollar. There was a haunted lighthouse in Connecticut and an abandoned hospital in Ohio that sold for a dollar. Here in Minnesota, the Shubert Theater was sold to Artspace for a dollar, and now it's been reborn as the Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts.

But put yourself in Zygi Wilf's shoes. When you're dreaming of a spanking new palace, would you settle for something from the Dollar Store?

A bit more on the Dollar Dome

Posted at 11:48 AM on October 21, 2011 by Eric Ringham
Filed under: Politics, Sports

Update: The Marty-Runbeck news conference revealed one other detail, at least: Under the Dollar Dome Deal, the Vikings would not be obliged to play there. They would have to agree to stay in Minnesota for 25 years, but the Dome would be theirs to do with as they wished. Sens. Marty and Runbeck pointed out that the old stadium has a new roof and a new playing surface - and that's true, as far as it goes. But it's hard to imagine that the roof and the field would survive any renovation.