The Leopard’s New Stripes

There was a reason I always referred to Senator Wes Skoglund as “Lying Sack of Garbage“; it was because on second amendment issues (and a few others), his entire body of knowledge seemed to have been unquestioningly drawn from easily-debunked chanting points from anti-gun propaganda factories like the Violence Policy Center and the Brady Factory.

Uncharacteristically, on the issue of the stadium, the Lying Sack of Garbage turns into a crusading seeker of the truth. And I say “better late than never”, as he urges the voters and the Legislature to call the Legislature’s bluff – especially the bluff that they’re going to move if the state doesn’t give them what they want:

I don’t blame them — the tactic often works for them. But no team can move without the approval of the NFL and, realistically, that OK will not be given unless it makes business sense to the league.

According to the Wall Street Journal in 2010, the Vikings rank sixth in terms of popularity as measured by Nielson’s local and national TV ratings. Actually, we tie with the Packers. There always has been talk that the Vikings will move to California, but how do California teams measure up? Only one is in the top half — the San Diego Chargers, which ranks 13th.

To be thorough, the team’s stats may fade a bit after this season…

…but it is a fact that year in, year out, winning and losing, through Bud Grant and Les Steckel, Minnesota has been a strong football market; it sells out games, it fills stadiums,it tunes in, it supports not only the Vikings, but the NFL’s franchise, better than most markets.

The NFL is a franchiser, no different than McDonalds except in terms of numbers of franchisees; neither of them wants to close a franchise in a money-making, attendance-drawing location.

Now,a franchise in a money-losing, unpopular location with no real football mojo? Rumors among people who follow these things say Jacksonville – a low-performing, unpopular team in a city with no real football tradition and inadequate attendance – would be a much better contender for a move to LA…

…for every purpose but extorting a stadium out of the Twin Cities.

I hope the Legislature does the research and asks the team and the NFL these basic business questions before they commit taxpayer money to the most expensive capital improvement plan in Minnesota’s history.

Let’s hope Minnesota’s fable “intelligence” kicks in here, forcing the NFL to pick a more sane option.

If Skoglund can do it,anyone can.

Posted

October 24, 2011

Taxes, The Rare Sports Post

Mitch Berg

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Skoglund

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7 responses to “The Leopard’s New Stripes”

K-Rod

October 24, 2011

“Minnesota’s fable “intelligence””

We “picked” Governor Ventura, Senator Dayton, Senator Franken, Gov Dayton… OUCH! Just what is it you hope “kicks in”?
Mr. D

October 24, 2011

Now, a franchise in a money-losing, unpopular location with no real football mojo? Rumors among people who follow these things say Jacksonville – a low-performing, unpopular team in a city with no real football tradition and inadequate attendance – would be a much better contender for a move to LA…

Right. 100% true. But you have to understand how cynical the NFL is. The league could just as easily let the Vikings move to Los Angeles now and then come back in a year or so and wave the Jacksonville franchise in front of our noses if we build a stadium for the Jacksonville ownership group. They’d even let us graft the “history” of the Vikings onto the successor franchise. A version of this trick has already happened in Cleveland.
Jeff Kouba

October 24, 2011

one very minor quibble… Jacksonville doesn’t have a pro sports tradition, let alone an NFL tradition, but college football has a home there… the Gator Bowl is played in Jacksonville, and Florida and Georgia play against each other each year in Jacksonville…
jdm

October 24, 2011

I simply don’t understand the point of these posts.

Urban areas supported by the the regions from which they draw fans pay for stadiums so professional sports teams will play there. There can be some variations in the details, who pays for what, what percentage, but in general, that’s it. If teams don’t get stadiums, they leave. To pretend otherwise is ridiculous.

And let’s get that stupid default argument out of the way: I don’t care one way or another. I’m not looking for Other People to build a stadium for a Billionaire so I can watch Millionaires play. If MNs et al in all their wisdom decide that the presence of the Vikings is not worth the price, then fine. But stop with the silly rationalizations; they don’t mean squat.
Earsall Mackbee

October 24, 2011

jdm, let me help. My recollection is that, back in the day, owners built their own stadiums. I don’t really recall any subsidy for the old Met Stadium or Met Center. Ticket prices were such that you didn’t need a loan to attend a game. Players were paid a salary that required many of them to obtain other jobs in the off-season. And owners typically ran their team like a sole family business, which it often was.

Today, most who attend games do so with corporate backed tickets. Players are paid enough so that a few years worth of work means a lifetime retirement. And owners buy team solely as a speculative investment. However, at some point when the line was crossed, taxpayers contributions were required to make these inflated economics work. So yes, Minnesotans HAVE said the Vikings aren’t worth the price. And there’s no reason everyone else can’t say the same. And then the economic pendulum starts to swing the other way.
jdm

October 24, 2011

Thanks, Earsall – remember you well, man 😉 – for the help with this post too. But I wasn’t looking for any explanation or history. I’ve followed the Vikings since 1960. I almost old enough to remember supporting the Packers because they were the nearest.

Everything you wrote is true and it matters not one whit. That was then and this is now. The purpose of my rant was to point out that rationalizations (from a freaking leftie being channeled by self-declared Bear’s fan, no less) as to why the Vikings won’t leave or the NFL won’t stab us in the back (thanks, Mr. D, excellent points) are irrelevant. The price to keep the Vikings is a stadium. That’s it. There is no other alternative.

Perhaps MNs think, like they thought they’d beat the Packers yesterday, that they’ll show the nation the error of its ways. That everyone will suddenly realize how crazy, how financially nuts the sport-entertainment business in general and the NFL’s own portion of it has become. How much they’ve screwed up the Game itself. Those MNs need to get over themselves.

Places we like to think of ourselves as the equal to (Denver, Nashville) or better than (Cleveland, Buffalo) seem to be able find a way. Just pony up the money or STFU. It really is just that simple.
jdm

October 25, 2011

It probably doesn’t matter, but I want to reel in those last two paragraphs in my last comment. Not that I don’t believe that they aren’t true, but they are irrelevant in the context of this post. Letting that extra glass of wine help in posting comments on blogs is usually a bad decision.