Wilf meets with Senjem, stadium deal 'in the works shortly'

Minneapolis Star-Tribune ^ | January 3, 2012 | Mike Kaszuba

[ConservativeStatement]

Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said Tuesday he met with Sen. David Senjem, the new Senate majority leader, and said the Vikings “feel that a deal is going to be in the works shortly” to build a new stadium.

Wilf met with Senjem a week after Senjem was chosen to replace Sen. Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, who resigned abruptly last month as Senate majority leader after acknowledging she had an inappropriate relationship with a Senate staff member.

[Doctor 2Brains]

It better be an outdoor stadium on natural grass, or I will continue to hex, voodoo, curse the sissy homos. You wanna play indoors? We got games for that, they’re called basketball and table tennis.

[paul51]

owners of sports teams should build their own stadiums.

[raybbr]

Let’s see. They want a new stadium for 1.1 billion - likely to rise in cost. The stadium has a life of, say, 25 years. That’s eight games a year X 25 = 200. Throw in 2 super bowls and that comes to 5.45 million dollars a game. Do the taxpayers think it’s worth that?

[ConservativeStatement]

From an outsider's perspective, the comments from the locals have been interesting. This is very political and the recent change in the Senate leadership has played another role in the discussion. The locals are probably best suited to answer the question.

[shelterguy]

“”””Do the taxpayers think it’s worth that?”””

If it’s like the twins stadium we won’t have a say in the matter. BOHICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Psycho_Bunny]

“the Vikings want to build a new $1.1 billion stadium “

Wow....and here I thought we got scammed spending that much on TWO stadiums here in Seattle.

I guess we got a good deal.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

I was a Vikings fan until they moved indoors to the Humphrey Dome. What a joke.

But of course the stadium will be indoors, because the only way to make their money back will be to rent it out year-round for concerts, revival meetings, expos, swap meets, etc.

And no one in his right mind wants to pore over used Vikings memorabilia in the snow.

[DManA]

In inflation adjusted dollars the Metrodome cost about $150 million. Wilf is demanding something that costs $1.1 billion or SEVEN TIMES AS COSTLY as the Metrodome.

NO one is offering a compromise. How about we build you something that costs 2.5X as fancy as the Metrodom? (BTW that would be about $400 million which is what he's telling us he's willing to spend). How about something 4X as fancy?

But no. No compromising, no barganing. Give us the most expensive stadium money can or we leave. And the new republican leader can't get to Wilf's offi fast enough, cowtowing a kissing the ass of the biggest crook east of Chicago.

[kearnyirish2]

After the twin disasters of the NY Giants and Dallas Cowboys stadiums (expensive stadiums built as Americans were losing the jobs that would let them afford tickets), I can’t believe ANYONE is building a new stadium anywhere in the US.

The Giants went through a 30 year waiting list for season tickets in 6 months, and still haven’t sold them all. Oh, and the new stadium sucks.

[NorthStarStateConservative]

Best part is that it’s being paid with voluntary taxes. You don’t like the stadium, you don’t have to play the pull tabs.
Just keep the stadium out of either city core.

[NorthStarStateConservative]

Let’s see. They want a new stadium for 1.1 billion - likely to rise in cost. The stadium has a life of, say, 25 years.

Wrong. Stadiums these days are built to last at least 40-50 years. It’s because building material isn’t cheap anymore. It used to be cheaper to build build 3 Veterans/3 Rivers/Shea stadium type fields in 60 years than it was to build 1 good, sturdy stadium a la Arrowhead Stadium. Not anymore.

>That’s eight games a year X 25 = 200.

Wrong. 10 games a year.

>Throw in 2 super bowls and that comes to 5.45 million dollars a game. Do the taxpayers think it’s worth that?

Throw in 2 Final Fours, a Superbowl, a few NCAA regionals, a Winter Classic, a Frozen Four, an NHL all star game (Hockey’s ungodly popular here), the MLS, a Superbowl and the taxes the players, fans and staff pay during the season (26-30 million dollars a year from most estimates) and it comes out to nearly double the investment in this stadium. That is, if our local politicians can attract anything but football to the new stadium. If they do, this is a steal for the state. They put themselves in the driver’s seat to attract all these events this without having to raise a single penny on taxes.