It Almost Makes Light Rail Look Fiscally Responsible

$77 per ticket per game.

That’s what the taxpayers will be paying to subsidize the Vikings stadium if the legislature caves in on the deal.

I’m getting those figures from that teabagging wingnut John Marty:

If the bill for the Minnesota Vikings new stadium passes the cost to taxpayers will be $77.30 per ticket, per game, for 30 years, according to an analysis by state senator John Marty, who submitted his findings to his colleagues yesterday (see his full report below). If the taxpayers of Minnesota think $77.30 is too much, Marty has even worse news: the real cost is much greater because his calculation does not include the value of the property tax exemption on the stadium and the parking ramps, nor the value of the sales tax exemption on construction materials.

Never thought I’d post a letter from John Marty that I agreed with – but here you go.

Letter 2.From.sen.Marty

In the meantime, Governor Dayton is holding a lot of key reform proposals – tax reform, LIFO – hostage behind a crowd of chanting purple-clad bobos who’d light their charcoal with the Bill of Rights to get the taxpayers to pay for their recreation.

And pay.

And pay.

If we don’t stop the NFL’s ongoing plunder of state and city taxpayers, who will?

Because if we pay for it now, they’ll be back in 31 years looking for another one, just about the time we finish paying $77 a freaking seat for the one we don’t have yet.

7 thoughts on “It Almost Makes Light Rail Look Fiscally Responsible

  1. If President Obama can force every American to buy health insurance, want it or not; why can’t Governor Dayton force every Minnesotan to buy Vikings tickets?

  2. After last season, I think it falls under ‘cruel and unusual punishment’.

  3. using economies of scale do we not do nearly the same damn thing for public transit/LRT. At least with this we have a chance to make our money back

  4. Marty actually makes a cogent, well-constructed argument in his letter. On this issue, his argument is very Libertarian. Just goes to show you – if you drift far enough Leftward, you’ll meet the Right. And, vice versa.

  5. Actually, if you calculate a reasonable ROI–say 15%–the overall subsidy is about $100 million annually, and hence the real subsidy is about $160-200 per ticket. Keep in mind that if you count the subsidy without an interest rate for the opportunity cost, you are drastically understating the subsidy.

    In this case, a 5% interest rate (you might do better) corresponds to an extra $30 million a year, or $50/ticket sold. Dividing the subsidy by the number of years it “will” be used (ha ha ha, as if the NFL isn’t going to haul us over a barrel in 15 years) is an extreme lowball estimate.

  6. Not to mention what the Red Star will rake in for parking revenues. I sincerely believe that the money from Viking games (now up to $45 per car, vans and RVs $60) is the only thing keeping that fish wrapper from folding completely. Oh. Wait! This just in. A survey of several schools of fish of all varities, has threatened to sue anyone that wraps them in that worthless piece of crap!

  7. The State should condemn the parking areas and give them to the Vikings as part of the economic development package. The Vikings get the revenue and the Strib no longer has a conflict of interest reporting on the story. Plus, if BossHoss’s theory is right, the Strib folds.

    Win-Win-Win!

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