Let's Cut The Crap, Shall We?

As evidence for the "infinite monkeys" theorem, Laura Billings has a pretty good column - in this case, in re the stadium.

One feature of the current plan is that it works more or less like this:

• Hennepin County residents will pay 3/4 of the cost of the stadium.
• The Twins will keep all the advertising, naming, skybox and other fringe revenues. The taxpayers will get none of it.

That's it.

Last week in the Legislature, Rep. Phil Krinkie and Sen. John Marty tried to even out the playing field by proposing a "Fair Stadium Funding Act" that would allow taxpayers to reclaim the same percentage of new stadium revenue that they ponied up to make it possible. Let's say the Twins make $40 million more their first season at the new place than they did at the Dome. If three-quarters of the new stadium were paid for with public funds, then three-quarters of that new revenue would go back to the public, while the remaining quarter would go back to the Twins.

It sounds fair, but as many baseball fans have instructed me in the last few weeks, baseball is not meant to be fair. Many echo the phrasings of Hennepin County commissioner and pro baseball apologist Mike Opat, who said of the bill, "In a perfect world, their scheme might work. But baseball doesn't operate in a perfect world, and it never will. The purpose of a new ballpark is to generate revenue so the team can be competitive."

That's the purpose of a new ballpark? Clearly, I need to spend more time with the rulebook.

Indeed.

In the meantime, Minnesotans might want to ask for more truth in advertising from the corporation that ultimately wins the naming bid for the new ballpark.

"If we got a ton of money for naming rights, that would be awesome — just share it with the public," says [anti-stadium-tax activist John] Knight.

If that doesn't happen, he has another suggestion:

"They can call it the Hennepin County Taxpayers Stadium, because that's what it is."As little as I support Initiative and Referendum, this is the sort of case where it would be a great thing.

Posted by Mitch at June 8, 2005 04:16 AM | TrackBack