Saturday, March 10, 2012

Vikings to Plot of Land East of Metrodome II -- Hey Man, Pull My Pulltab Redux

A few days back we learned that the plan to finance the state's "portion" of the Vikings stadium would be to use electronic pulltabs. I know it's bad form to quote your own work, but at the time I said this:

So in other words, we once again are relying on projections from our old friend Rosy Scenario.
Yesterday, we learned that, as always, Rosy Scenario is likely to be a no-show:


Standing with State Revenue Commissioner Myron Frans, Dayton said that allowing electronic bingo and pulltabs in the state's bars and restaurants would produce $62.5 million annually to finance the state's total $398 million stadium contribution.

That figure is $10 million a year less than a previous calculation. It was revised to satisfy charitable gambling officials who want tax relief for their industry as part of any Vikings stadium deal. "We feel confident that this is a revenue stream that we can rely on" for the stadium, Frans said.

And even that figure might be Rosy, but we'll leave that aside. The larger point is that there is no Plan B:


Frans said he was confident about this latest pulltab revenue estimate, but conceded that if electronic bingo and pulltabs failed to generate enough money, the state would have to look at a backup plan more directly supported by state money. "That's something we'll have to look at," said Frans.

State officials said that while $38 million to $40 million a year would be needed for debt service on stadium borrowing, bond houses might require twice as much because gambling is seen as an unstable funding source.
"That's something we'll have to look at" really means, "uh, we have no idea." How do I know this? In addition to the news conference that the Star Tribune article references, Dayton made the rounds of local radio shows. I heard Dayton's interview with KFAN's Dan Barreiro on my drive home yesterday. While I can't find a transcript of the conversation, Barreiro asked Dayton directly if there was a Plan B and Dayton admitted there wasn't. You can listen to the interview here.

So what happens if the funding source is vapor, as it appears to be? Cue Dave Senjem:


"If the electronic pulltabs just [don't] work why, then, no one can probably vote for it," said Senate Majority Leader David Senjem after his Friday meeting with Dayton. "We have to be assured there's a financing mechanism that works," the Rochester Republican said.

On whether the Vikings stadium legislation would pass the Legislature this spring, Senjem said: "We'll do the best we can. If it's not good enough, why, we'll have to, I suppose, set it aside and [do it] at a different time."

And of course, the money that Minneapolis is supposed to pony up won't likely be forthcoming, either.

It's been a fine run of kabuki theater for the past year and it's been very good for business on this blog, but after a while it's time to face reality. The stadium only gets built if one of two things happen.

1) Zygi Wilf pays for it himself. And he won't.
2) The state bites down hard and votes to pay for it out of state revenues. That's likely a non-starter, but it would be far more honest if the various politicians who have been spinning like Iranian centrifuges on the matter would just admit that's what it is going to take.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the lege would find the money under the sofa cushions-- that is, build the stadium with no new revenue whatsoever-- I think they could cobble together a majority. I'm concerned they will cobble without such common sense.

J. Ewing

First Ringer said...

I'm getting further and further convinced that Wilf will shortly throw up his hands in frustration and sell the team.

The good news in that? Neither LA project looks anywhere close to being completed. And while either proposed ownership group might bid on the team, the NFL isn't moving the Vikes without reassurances from the LA market that a new stadium will be built (the Rose Bowl is a fine temporary location but the NFL won't stand for one of their teams playing there unless a new complex is being constructed).

What does that mean? A local ownership group (perhaps with Glen Taylor in the lead) will likely end up with the Vikings, paying far more than the team is worth. Of course, that won't settle the issue, only buy the state a few more years of can-kicking until the next ownership group throws up their hands. That (not this current stadium show) is probably the final act of the Vikings melodrama.

Mr. D said...

What does that mean? A local ownership group (perhaps with Glen Taylor in the lead) will likely end up with the Vikings, paying far more than the team is worth. Of course, that won't settle the issue, only buy the state a few more years of can-kicking until the next ownership group throws up their hands. That (not this current stadium show) is probably the final act of the Vikings melodrama.

That's not a bad guess, FR. I've thought that was possible. The one thing we don't know is this -- might there be another place besides LA?

R-Five said...

I'm still willing to make Faustian bargain: finish Central Corridor but then kill all rail projects starting with SW Corridor. That should more than cover cost of stadium.

First Ringer said...

The one thing we don't know is this -- might there be another place besides LA?

That's a great question, D. But if another city comes into the mix, it'll be a step down in media market size from the Twin Cities. Of the Top 20 media markets in the U.S., only LA & Sacramento don't have NFL franchises (and I doubt the NFL is eager to plant a team in Sacramento).

Looking around other media markets, only Portland (23rd largest) has both the lack of an NFL team and at least a solid venue in Autzen Stadium (home of the Oregon Ducks). Only problem is that Autzen is in Eugene - 2 hours or more away from Portland. Plus, while Autzen holds 59,000, they lack enough luxury boxes to be viable long term. Just like LA, any home would have to be temporary and pending the construction of a new stadium.

The most likely non-LA candidate might be Toronto. The Buffalo Bill's "Toronto Series" (5 games over 5 seasons in Rogers Centre in Toronto) expires in 2012. The NFL would love to have a team in one of the largest North American media markets and the leading media center in Canada. While the NFL would probably prefer to move the Bills north (Buffalo is the 49th largest media market), moving another northern franchise would be seen as an option.

Gino said...

Mexico City.

american football is big south of the border. a franchise will make it bigger.
its all upside potential, if you ask me.

Mr. D said...

FR, I was thinking about Toronto when I wrote that. But I was really thinking about what Gino mentioned. Mexico City. You want a big metropolitan area? New York's metro area is 8.3 million. Mexico City? 21.2 million.

First Ringer said...

There's no doubt the NFL is interested in Mexico City. I just wonder if the current political climate in Mexico precludes the location.

Not to beat around the bush - who would own the team that could be considered legitimate?

Mr. D said...

Not to beat around the bush - who would own the team that could be considered legitimate?

Oh, you could start with Carlos Slim. I think he's good for the money.