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Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 15th, 2016, 7:11 am
by LakeCharles
The Wilfs played hardball and they won – boo hoo. They also put up a ton of their own money.
Sorry to extend this longer than necessary, but the Wilfs did not put up a "ton" of their own money. The team put in $600 million. US Bank paid them $230 million for naming rights. The entrances and clubs naming rights brought in another $110 million. The NFL gave them an interest-free loan over 20 years of $150 million. The Wilfs put in the remaining $110 million. And the valuation of the team jumped up $700 million. So they made a business investment with an ROI of 535%. Yes, $110 million is a lot, but if someone offered you a deal to pay $110 and get $700 back immediately, anyone would take it.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 15th, 2016, 7:17 am
by mplsjaromir
It's Al-Shabaab you frickin' rube.

The entire counter terrorism apparatus is based around the implicit targeting and profiling of Muslim communities, yet because people are critical of an ugly and unnecessary stadium you think it stems from antisemitism. Class act.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 15th, 2016, 7:30 am
by MattW
U MAD BRO?

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 17th, 2016, 8:58 am
by BigIdeasGuy
I don’t sycophantically defend the Wilfs, I think they did what they had to do to keep pro-football in Minnesota and think the unbalanced attacks on them ooze provincial anti-Semitism.
Prove it. Rip the team and Wilfs on one thing. Simply one. Major, minor I don't care just come up with one thing the Wilfs have screwed up since they bought the team. I'll wait.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 17th, 2016, 9:26 am
by Didier
If you look back through his posts there are occasional criticisms. He just very strongly believes that the stadium was the catalyst for all new DTE redevelopment and that the Wilfs are perceived as uniquely bad when actually they are average NFL owners and the financing of our stadium was pretty much in line with how all stadiums are financed.

Neither of those points is necessarily wrong, though yes his posts can be hard headed and frustratingly glib about the perfectly reasonable reasons people don't like how the stadium was financed. But we've long since passed the time when debating any of this was worthwhile or interesting.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 17th, 2016, 11:34 am
by Nathan
I don’t sycophantically defend the Wilfs, I think they did what they had to do to keep pro-football in Minnesota and think the unbalanced attacks on them ooze provincial anti-Semitism.
Prove it. Rip the team and Wilfs on one thing. Simply one. Major, minor I don't care just come up with one thing the Wilfs have screwed up since they bought the team. I'll wait.
And then all the stadium opponents and nay sayers all have to say one positive thing about the new stadium or the wilfs.

Board therapy time.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 17th, 2016, 11:35 am
by BigIdeasGuy
If you look back through his posts there are occasional criticisms. He just very strongly believes that the stadium was the catalyst for all new DTE redevelopment and that the Wilfs are perceived as uniquely bad when actually they are average NFL owners and the financing of our stadium was pretty much in line with how all stadiums are financed.

Neither of those points is necessarily wrong, though yes his posts can be hard headed and frustratingly glib about the perfectly reasonable reasons people don't like how the stadium was financed. But we've long since passed the time when debating any of this was worthwhile or interesting.
I'll admit I haven't read all of VfiM really long posts but I can't remember of a single criticism of the Wilf's in any of his posts. If you look back I've never had a problem with the way the stadium was financed, it wasn't even close to ideal but considering the world we live in it was the right decision for the state andy city. He also isn't 100% wrong on the DTE redevelopment, something would have happened eventually, probably not for the foreseeable future, but the change wouldn't have been nearly as fast or dramatic.

My problem from with the team and the ownership is the fact that every other party (city, state, Wells Fargo, Ryan, downtown businesses, etc) all came together to make DTE as great as it could be for everyone while the team has only tried to line their pockets. I know they are a private business whose first priority is to make money for their owners but it's hard for me to give them a slap on the back and say great job when at every turn they've attempted to suck every dollar they can from their fans and the public.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 17th, 2016, 11:38 am
by BigIdeasGuy
I don’t sycophantically defend the Wilfs, I think they did what they had to do to keep pro-football in Minnesota and think the unbalanced attacks on them ooze provincial anti-Semitism.
Prove it. Rip the team and Wilfs on one thing. Simply one. Major, minor I don't care just come up with one thing the Wilfs have screwed up since they bought the team. I'll wait.
And then all the stadium opponents and nay sayers all have to say one positive thing about the new stadium or the wilfs.

Board therapy time.
From the beginning I've been supportive of the stadium. I thought it was the right decision for the city and state to help finance the building. It's certainly not ideal but I've never been a stadium opponent.

I really like bold design of the building and Wilfs made a good decision to hire Mike Zimmer.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 17th, 2016, 8:22 pm
by Didier
The roof on the stadium is lit up purple tonight. Didn't know it could do that.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 17th, 2016, 11:12 pm
by seanrichardryan
I figured that US Bank logo would get some razzle dazzle at some point.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 18th, 2016, 7:47 am
by Nathan
The stadium is covered in the most advanced lighting technology they could get. It's amazing during games and just plain fun when they want it to be.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 18th, 2016, 4:40 pm
by grrdanko
https://youtu.be/0vUsfcmMxn8/

Everything looks great today. I just wish thee was an alternative to the temporary security tents.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 18th, 2016, 5:02 pm
by bapster2006
The big doors are wide open. Looks cool.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 19th, 2016, 11:59 am
by David Greene
Lots of superlatives on national TV last night and I have to admit, it looked pretty awesome. I mean, not worth a billion dollars in public money but I do give credit to the architects.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 19th, 2016, 12:19 pm
by colink
Can someone clear something up for me? It's my understanding that the only tax that is being used to help pay for the stadium in an "inventory tax on cigarettes" and a gambling tax. Am I completely off on this? Because I've seen lots of criticisms of the stadium making it sound like every person in Minneapolis is being taxed. I've even heard people suggest their property taxes went up because of the stadium.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 19th, 2016, 12:28 pm
by VAStationDude
Starting in 2019 when the convention center is paid off, a significant portion of the Minneapolis local option sales tax will pay for debt service and city's operating obligations. Some property was purchased by the stadium authority and city is no longer taxed. Other property near to the stadium is much more valuable than it was. A very detailed analysis would have to be done to determine the effect on the city's general fund. My guess is the stadium boosted general fund revenue slightly.


The State's obligation is paid for by a corporate tax diverted from the general fund to the stadium and gambling. The cig thing was a one time cash infusion when gambling came up way short of projections.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 19th, 2016, 12:30 pm
by MNdible
Here's a recent Strib article that discusses the funding sources. It's definitely much more than what you outline above.

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 19th, 2016, 12:35 pm
by Nathan
That Halftime Show was amazing.

https://vimeo.com/183261066

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 19th, 2016, 2:07 pm
by amiller92
Here's a recent Strib article that discusses the funding sources. It's definitely much more than what you outline above.
How so? The city's portion will be paid out of the convention center taxes, when the original debts are paid off.

The state's is the corporate tax loophole thing, the one-time cigarette floor tax money, and the e-pulltabs, which are apparently no longer a fantasy.

If anything VA Station Guy went a bit further in considering the impact on city property tax collections (wild guess would say the Wells Fargo tower, Red, Millwright and Edition will wind up with more way more property taxes than the Strib building and the surface parking).

Re: U.S. Bank Stadium

Posted: September 19th, 2016, 2:12 pm
by VAStationDude
I didn't get into the downtown entertainment taxes. No big deal either way