I haven’t written a lot about the Vikings stadium controversy. Partly it’s because I have little to say other than “build what you want, but don’t use any taxpayer money”. Partly it’s because I’m too busy saying “Go Bears”.
And partly because Mr. Dilettante has it covered.
His series on the ongoing Arden Hills shakedown – up to seventeen parts and counting – touched on the visit to Minnesota by the NFL brass who, in an example of the worst optics I’ve seen in this sort of a situatiion since the CEOs of GM and Chrysler flew to Washington in corporate jets to talk with Congress, pulled up to the site of the shakedown talks in a limo.
And he commented on the remarks by the NFL’s spokesman, former Goldman-Sachs employee Roger Grubman:
And in case you were thinking that the Los Angeles option isn’t real, Grubman offered this bon mot:
“To me, if I were a Minnesotan, any alternative other than Minnesota would be equally as bad,” he said.
Got the message? That Grubman is crazy, man. You don’t know what he’ll do. He’ll move the team to Wichita if that’s what it takes. He’s nuts and he’s serious. He’ll take your team away in the blink of a gimlet eye. You better pony up, rubes valued citizens of Minnesota.
So the question is out there. Do we build Zygi World in Arden Hills on the old ammo dump site? Or does the NFL drop the bomb? As much as we’ve all tried to pretend otherwise, I suspect we all knew this moment was coming. The NFL and the Wilfs are going to give Minnesota one chance to answer.
Of course, Jacksonville has worse financials and is a market that, unlike Minnesota, has almost no NFL tradition and doesn’t have a fifty-year record of selling out games even during turkey seasons like this one. Rationally, they are a much better candidate to move to LA.
But the NFL, and our DFL governor, don’t want you to think rationally about this. They want you bouncing between hazy purple and gold nostalgia on the one hand, and Grubman’s little leash-yank on the other.
Read Mr. D’s whole series.
Governor Dayton has emplored us not to “play politics” with this. After you’re done laughing, call his office and start laughing again.
Thanks, Mitch.
2 things come to mind. One the NFL wants (and the LA crew that’s trying to entice teams to move) 2 teams in LA. And you think it can’t happen? Tell that to fans of the (original) Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, and Houston Oilers.
I have been bleedin’ purple since I was 7 years old. In other words, for over 50 years now, I have been having my pride crushed under the boot of Green Bay fans.
As much as I believe that the Vikings are a valuable asset to the state, I would be willing to see them leave, because if it happens on Dayton’s watch, I’m hoping that there won’t be a DemocRAT elected to the post for at least the next 20 years!
I actually supported some stadiums…..Miller Park, Target Field, TCF, but this is different. The ultra ultra rich NFL wants us to pay for a palace in Arden Hills. Then they will make millions and millions on parking and other revenue sources. The proposed stadium is so over the top, its almost embarrassing. I wish the project was in downtown Minneapolis and something a bit more modest.
As a Green Bay fan, I do not want team purple to move. The Chicago-Green Bay-Minnesota rivalry is good for the NFL. Rational thought would say the NFL doesn’t want to lose one of the largest media markets in the country, plus much of Iowa and the Dakotas, but they are so greedy, they would allow that to get something in LA.
Ah, yes. LA, CA…the city that can’t support a NFL team. The city where in five or six years after the novelty wears off, the Wilfs or potential new owners, will be looking to bail on LA, too. Of course, all of these arguments are moot, anyway. After all, we are in for a world of hurt on 12/21/2012, because the Mayan calendar stopped on that date. I say, they just ran out of room on the tablet, but…
Question, how would a stadium affect residents near the stadium, say within a few miles?
Consider the economy: Move the Vikes to Minot. Lots of money and no fair-weather fans!
If the Vikings changed their name to the Matadors they might make a go of it in LA. Or maybe The Cartel….
Question, how would a stadium affect residents near the stadium, say within a few miles?
It’s a good question, K-Rod. There are a few neighborhoods south of the stadium along Hwy 96, but the potential impact would affect a number of areas. I don’t think game days would matter much, but the road improvements on 35W would actually make life a little easier for me on a daily basis — the reason I’ve been following this so closely is that the site is about 6 miles from where I live. The 35W/694 interchange is horrible and the cluster of roads that meet near the site is a giant bottleneck.
694, especially the 694/10 interchange, was going to be addressed anyway in the next decade, so what the project could do is expedite work that’s already in the pipeline.
Andy Aplikowski has some related thoughts over at his place, in which he gives the pro-stadium view from an Arden Hills perspective, in the inimitable AAA style.
Besides, it would guarantee Arden Hills a light rail line. Big Time, here we come! No longer a poor man’s Shoreview.
Mr. D, any thoughts on home values near the stadium? I agree that the roads, hwy 10, 96, 694, & 35W, could use a major overhaul. How might the area a few blocks east of Arden Hills be affected, will this be a win-lose or a lose-lose-lose?
“Take the Team, Leave the Cannoli”
I dunno, K-Rod. If you’re talking Shoreview (and I assume you are), I’m guessing it won’t move the needle much. The development is all to the west of Hamline Avenue.
Home values in some parts of Arden Hills, Mounds View and New Brighton might be affected, but I’m not sure how much.