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Commentary
Ramsey County's agreement on a Vikings stadium is a win for Minnesota
by Tony BennettThe agreement between the Minnesota Vikings and Ramsey County makes sense on a number of levels for the people of Ramsey County, the metro region and the state of Minnesota. The project will dramatically accelerate the redevelopment and revitalization of the largest Superfund site in the state. It will also transform a grossly underutilized property in the heart of the metro region into a productive site that will create jobs and economic activity, now and for decades to come.
Ramsey County is leveraging a billion-dollar redevelopment of an environmental eyesore and more than $100 million in sorely needed north metro highway improvements for a $350 million investment. We make this investment at a time when our skilled workforce is suffering record high unemployment and our state's economy is struggling to shake off a persistent recession.
The stadium will be publicly owned and available for high school and amateur sports and other community events. A multipurpose, year-round facility will allow the Twin Cities to continue to host events — such as the Super Bowl — and visitors from across Minnesota and beyond.
This project will support 13,000 full- and part-time jobs, including 7,500 construction jobs, over a three-year construction period. The stadium project will put $286 million in construction wages in the pockets of working men and women over the next three years. In return, they will pump $10 million in income taxes into the state's coffers. Skilled trades in Minnesota are currently experiencing unemployment rates ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent.
Once the stadium is completed in 2015, it will support 3,400 full- and part-time jobs with more than $100 million in personal earnings, according to a study by Conventions, Sports & Leisure International. Private development of nearby properties, both on the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) site and across the northern suburbs, will generate new jobs and continuing positive economic impacts for the region.
Once the adjacent TCAAP property is fully developed, according to the Ramsey County Assessor's Office (assuming taxable value of the developed property of $232 million), it will generate approximately $6.6 million in total property taxes annually. This includes $1.4 million in state general tax and $2.3 million in county property tax.
Off-site transportation-related infrastructure improvements will create a substantial number of additional jobs. A lot has been written about the cost of transportation improvements near the stadium site. Some politicians have called the need for infrastructure improvements a "deal-breaker." But I would point out that many of those improvements have been on the drawing board for years and postponed by the Department of Transportation. These projects are needed to ease congestion in the northern suburbs whether a stadium is built or not. In addition, we have identified a way to fund these long-delayed, much-needed improvements at a cost to the state of just $7 million a year, a small fraction of the metro highway construction budget.
And let's not forget the monetary value in keeping the Vikings in Minnesota. The team currently pays nearly $20 million in sales, liquor and income taxes annually. Visiting NFL players also contribute $1 million in income taxes to the state each year. The Conventions, Sports & Leisure International study also estimated the new stadium would be responsible for $145 million in direct annual spending by fans, the Vikings, the team's employees and players, by visiting teams and the NFL in connection with games and the operation of the facility.
Let me note for the record that the public is well protected by our agreement. The Vikings will cover all cost overruns on stadium construction and a portion of any cost overruns on land acquisition and remediation. And there is a profit-sharing agreement if the team is sold within 10 years. The Vikings will commit to a 30-year lease and pay for all municipal services, including police, traffic, fire, trash removal, etc. The lease will have no early termination provisions and will not allow the Vikings to relocate.
The Vikings will operate and maintain the facility under the direction of a five-member stadium authority and pay approximately 90 percent of operating and maintenance expenses.
The governor asked the Vikings to identify a stadium site and a willing local partner. Our agreement with the team answers both requests and provides the best opportunity for building the "people's stadium" that Gov. Mark Dayton envisioned. This project will pay enormous dividends to Ramsey County and the state of Minnesota for decades to come.
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Tony Bennett, of Shoreview, is a Ramsey County commissioner.
Comments (14)
Why won't Mr. Bennett allow the voters of Ramsey County to have a voice in this? Why does the plan Mr. Bennett arranged allow the Vikings to keep 100% of the naming rights money? Why does the arrangement that Mr. Bennett arranged allow the Vikings to reduce their contribution by $40,000,000 if they choose to have a fixed roof instead of retractable? Governor Dayton said it best when he said he understood why the Vikings liked the deal but he couldn't understand why Ramsey County would agree to such one-sided terms. This is a sweetheart deal for the Vikings. Thankfully Gov Dayton will not allow this plan to proceed.
Of course, this proposal is actually a win for the Wilfs. Like so many professional sports team owners they are billionaires who choose to pay their employees millions of dollars and look to taxpayers to subsidize this ridiculous business model. I wonder what my employer could afford to pay me if they didn't have to pay for the cost of our place of business.
AGREE %100 !! GO RAMSEY COUNTY, GET THIS DONE MINNESOTA. and since when does the public, short or long term know what's good for them?
Mr. Bennett and the legislators supporting this are going to be looking for new jobs very soon!
Taxpayers are sick of paying for freeloaders.
"Police, Traffic, Fire, Trash..." This is exactly why I'm opposed to this plan to begin with. I could not have found better words myself to state the reason why no-one wants to live next to it; "Police, Traffic, Fire, Trash..."
A five member stadium authority? I'm sure that they will be made up of local residents who have to listen to and put up with the traffic and associated problems, No?
If we are so confident that this is a stadium by the people and for the people then let the people vote. Why is Ramsey County so afraid to do so?
The Vikings need a new home and the Arden Hills site is the best option in the built up Twin Cities because of the suburban location taking traffic away from the city and being a wonderful employer of and taxpayer to the many. The taxes are part of an economic cycle in which money goes in several holes on one end and out many chutes on the other end benefiting such a diverse group it is difficult to say how big it will be. I would like this to happen since the North Star state deserves an out door football park again to have both the players and the fans gasping actual adrenalin from fresh outside air and not stagnant downtown dome air.
I am from MN but live in TX now. I agree with John W (MSP) ... more tax money for the state and this will get jobs back in the state for those unemployed. Plus, I would LOVE my outdoor stadium back. I was very upset when the MET came down - they could have built the dome there - plenty of room at the time. Anyway - looking forward to seeing a stadium bill pass this time around - and I can't wait for the season to "hopefully" start.
Thank you to the Governor, Ramsey County and all the legislators for your hard work on this.
This artical should be run in every paper in Minnesota. It does the best job of showing why the stadium deal is good for the state and not just the team. When the numbers are put to us like this it is hard to imagine there are those who are against it. This will create jobs and in the "not so long" run bring in more tax dollars than are being invested.
Wow that half cent sales tax is really gonna hurt you guys in Ramsey. That's about ..what...50 cents on a $100 purchase? Pretty steep, I know. I hope they do put it to a vote so you guys can vote it down. Have fun with your abandoned, contaminated, wasteland, munition site I hear its a real draw for tourism and business. Not to mention its awesome to look at.
Yeah, I'm sure all of the jobs will come back. Just like they did after they built Target Field.
This is absurd. No public money should be used to pay for billionaires playgrounds.
I can't belive how DUMB some people are. You are concerned about a half cent tax increase on something that is going to add jobs, increase your homes worth, attract business, house and keep the Vikings in MN and fix roads? Even if you are unapreciative of a great franchise such as the Vikings or just don't like football, you can't be so stupid as not to see the value of this stadium. Cut taxes elsewhere. You have people moving into MN JUST TO COLLECT WELFARE. Minnesota needs the Vikings and the revenue. Quit being idiots. Hopefully they don't let you morons have a say in it because you only stand to muck it up. Clearly they have been elected to make decisions because it seems as though the majority of you can't think.
Mr. Bennett's argument doesn't add up, because the Vikings wouldn't be creating an additional source of jobs they'd simply be moving the source from the Metrodome in Minneapolis to Arden Hills. It's a wash. And sure, we'd clean up a mess in Arden Hills but we'd also leave behind a giant eyesore in Minneapolis -- again, it's a wash. Bennett's persuasive skills are akin to that of a magician -- look at this new shiny thing over here, so you won't notice that I'm robbing you blind.
let them leave what do i get out of a damn stadium besides higher taxes
Mr. Bennett, you should be ashamed of yourself for perpetrating this fraud on the people of Minnesota. Your brand of economic deceit is absolutely appalling. My hope is that you find yourself on the unemployment line and begging for a job building this boondoggle of a stadium that you have fraudulently forced upon the taxpayers (who incidentally want NOTHING to do with paying for it). You have deliberately misled the people who pay your salary, and for that, you have proven you have no soul.
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