http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/sports/08stadium.html?pagewanted=all

3. It’s unfortunate that so many people lack the brainpower to understand the math involved. When you talk about millions and billions, most people can’t comprehend that kind of money. But once you get into the per-year costs (about $25 million for the state and roughly $8 million for Mpls.) vs. per-year tax revenue generated (about $10 million just in taxes on player salaries, plus taxes on everything from concession stand beer to Adrian Peterson jerseys), and it doesn’t sound quite so ridiculous. Throw in a few other money-making events on the 30-plus weekends the Vikings aren’t using the stadium, and the finances tip even more in the Vikings’ favor.

4. A bunch of people seem to be morally outraged at the thought of someone else (the government) telling them how to spend a few hundred bucks of their money (on a sales tax), but feel like it’s their God-given right to tell someone else (the Wilfs) how to spend millions of dollars of their money? Does that sound like hypocrisy at its finest to anyone else?

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3. The state gets the stadium for 42 weekends every year, and 355 days. I dont understand why people seem to think the state gets nothing out of this deal other than taxes and jobs.

4. I had never thought about it that way, but you are absolutely right. but, in this country, people lately seem to want to fight for their own rights and not be told what to do, but yet loudly voice their opinions on what others should do. We live in a society of hypocrites now. Its disgusting.

People are complaining about $20 a year they would put out for the extra sales tax, but just as quickly are telling the Wilfs they should have no problem putting out another $400,000,000.00

And that comes back to the fact that the Wilfs are using the stadium for 10 days a year. The state wants to use it a whole lot more. Please tell me why the Wilfs should pay the brunt again?

That clause should read “if you don’t pay taxes, don’t complain” because as long as it is my money being spent, I’ll complain long and loud whether I voted in the last election or not!

1. Committee chair Dean Urdahl’s comment has been completely misrepresented. He wasn’t asking that question (the one about tax money for billionaires , he was pointing out that he gets asked that question frequently by constituents.

2. Don’t blame Republicans. Five of the six “yes” votes came from their side of the aisle.

3. It’s unfortunate that so many people lack the brainpower to understand the math involved. When you talk about millions and billions, most people can’t comprehend that kind of money. But once you get into the per-year costs (about $25 million for the state and roughly $8 million for Mpls.) vs. per-year tax revenue generated (about $10 million just in taxes on player salaries, plus taxes on everything from concession stand beer to Adrian Peterson jerseys), and it doesn’t sound quite so ridiculous. Throw in a few other money-making events on the 30-plus weekends the Vikings aren’t using the stadium, and the finances tip even more in the Vikings’ favor.

4. A bunch of people seem to be morally outraged at the thought of someone else (the government) telling them how to spend a few hundred bucks of their money (on a sales tax), but feel like it’s their God-given right to tell someone else (the Wilfs) how to spend millions of dollars of their money? Does that sound like hypocrisy at its finest to anyone else?

5. The Wilfs are never, never, never, ever going to agree to pick up 100 percent of the bill for a new stadium. Why? Because they don’t have to. Instead they’ll move the team to a city where they’ll get the deal they want. And anyone in their shoes would do the exact same thing 100 times out of 100. If Wal-Mart has the TV you want for $1,000 and Target has the exact same TV for $700, which store are you hauling the TV home from that afternoon? (FYI, if the “huge” sales tax increase happened, that $1,000 TV would cost you $1,005.)

6. Finally, my favorite is when people try to characterize this as politicians sticking up for everyday Minnesotans by not supporting a sales tax increase without a referendum. People don’t want to help buy a stadium, but will buy that load of crap. Unbelievable.

Hey, they got Wild after the North Stars left.
And why would Minnesota want the Browns anyway?

Good for you, does that make you feel better about your sorry ass life? Now go home from your minimum wage job, if you even have a job, and kick your dog, loser.

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I don’t have a sorry ass life, I have an OK job, and why would I kick my dog when I have such happy news as the sorry pathetic whiner Vikings fans probably losing their team?

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For this Packer fan, if the Vikings leave? We’d have a decent rivalry with the Rams soon enough, so no sweat. If it were the Bears? That would be different.

Wisconsin teams will have a two-way connection with rivals in Chicago and St. Louis via the Packers and Brewers.

Pretty much swapping one bottom tier dome team for another. I’m sure all our old, washed up Super Bowl champions can move to St. Louis as well as they could have to Minneapolis, so not much difference at all. The Rams already got a head start with Wells.

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Good for you, does that make you feel better about your sorry ass life? Now go home from your minimum wage job, if you even have a job, and kick your dog, loser.

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Target Center, Target Field, Excel, all had taxpayer help. Why is it so difficult for the Vikings? The Twins situation was bad, but it was never this difficult for the Wild or the T’Wolves. Prob because they were new franchises. So let the Vikes go and in 10 years spend twice, if not 3 times more, with the help of tax dollars. Yeah, cuz that makes financial sense. Lets pay 2-3 times more in 10 years cuz right now the opposers refuse to see the long term benefit. Typical fast-food mentality, only worried about the present and we will deal with the future when it comes. Same reason we have freeway road issues and the Dome was also built on the cheap with no forward thinking. All because there was no future proofing ourselves. Look, it is never a good/convenient time to spend a LOT of money…for anyone. But sometime you just have to bite the bullet to better your situation and future proof yourself. Now is the time for the state to future proof itself and guarentee itself tens of millions in tax revenue on a yearly basis. Like another poster put, if they leave we will lose revenue streams not just from the team but from the stadium too and end up raising taxes anyway. But at least we will not hafta pay for a stadium now. Again, makes NO sense. But the nay-sayers will have won. No Stadium. Just don’t bitch when taxes go up to make up for the vacant tax revenue. Idiots.

Where will the state make up the lost tax revenue from the team leaving?

Think they will raise taxes? The revenue generated from the Vikings is used somewhere, when they leave you will be stuck with having to make up that revenue.

You Go Gayla, beat those big broad shoulder sweaty muscular faiders, emmm thats hot.

Teams have left cities before and those cities have survived.

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out Vikes.

Besides the Wylf’s will never move. The CA market is brutal to underachieving cheapskates. They have a swet deal in MN where they stink and the fans still love them.

Since smaller local/regional/state governments do see a benefit in luring a team, they will choose to subsidize it, which then distorts the free market. As long as governments can use other people’s money to subsidize these businesses/teams, there is no need for an actual, factual cost-benefit anaysis and there is no end to the amount of subsidy that will be provided. Where is the solid, accurate analysis of tax revenue that would be lost to the entities (Mpls and Minnesota) that would be funding this subsidy, if the Vikings were to leave Minnesota?

I presume it isn’t out here for consumption, because it would show that there is a wide gap between what the public is being asked to finance versus the return in tax revenues. If that’s the case, people would be confronted with the stark choice of whether to give an annual subsidy of $X to Zygi/NFL/players for the intangible benefits of community pride and national television exposure.

the threat to leave will now be used, and if there’s no deal, the team will pursue alternatives and file to leave by next year’s deadline

Cleveland waited too long to satisfy Modell. It is Clevelands fault they lost the Browns. Modell took his business and moved to Baltimore. Hate Modell all you want, you have a team, get over it. Cleveland was only “deactivated” for three seasons. Nobody missed anything. In other communities there is a lost generation of football fans who grew up without a hometown team.

You’re missing the point, the NFL leaving any community is devastating. Minnesota will regret not building a new stadium. The NFL is a community event.

The L.A. Rams and Raiders and an empty Coliseum would beg to differ.

Thanks, your making my point for me. Since there is currently no bond proposed, the income from something like a Superbowl, would make up for the taxpayer money spent. With just one two-week event. Add other events held there, and wuh-lah…Minneapolis starts making money from a new stadium. Money that will not be there if there is no stadium. Like another post said, without a team, Minneapolis on Sunday’s will be a ghost town compaired to if there is a stadium and team here. It doesn’t matter if it is 100% local money spent. It is simply money spent, money that is already taxed. You cannot say that the majority of people going to minneapolis for sundays are from minneapolis. I feel confident in saying at least 75% of the people going to minneapolise for gameday do not reside in minneapolis. So yes, minneapolis would be getting more income with a stadium than without. I am not a CPA nor do I claim to be. But income is income. Whether it is local or from visitors. All money spent in MN is taxed. So if there are no jersey’s, hot dogs, nachos, liquor, game tickets, concerts, entertainment, etc. on sundays or other major events a new stadium would bring, no money will be spent, thus no tax dollars made. Like Feild of Dreams…”If you build it, they will come”. When you say “extort” money from taxpayers for this, then they are extorting me for the Gutherie, Capitol Renovation, Light Rail, Roads, Target Field, Xcel center, Target Center, TCF Stadium and so on. But ALL of those make MN a better state beacuse of ALL the income from them, big or small. Private or state owned, I am still taxed for all that. Or in your words I am being “extorted” by those. But I CHOOSE to live here. Taxes are needed for alot of things I will NEVER use, like welfare, Buses, Library’s, Art Museums. Do I bitch about it? No. Because I know others do partake in those things. It is a part of living in MN. If they don’t like state taxes move to one of the states that don’t have state taxes and shut up.

Only 1 DFLer – one of the bill’s sponsors mind you – voted in favor of the bill going to floor for a vote & 5 Repubs did.

So much for your tinfoil hat crack pot theory of the ‘Tea Party” poisoning the well.

Where was all the Metro area support(mostly DFL territory) on this? You know, those people who stand to gain the most from a downtown stadium?