The settled stadium situation in Minnesota became quickly unsettled on Tuesday. Now, it’s settled again. Sort of.
According to the Associated Press, the chairperson of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority says that Personal Seat Licenses (technically, Stadium Builders Licenses for the new Vikings venue) are permitted, but that exorbitant fees won’t be allowed.
“What people were reacting to is $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 a seat,” Michelle Kelm-Helgen said, regarding PSL fees charged elsewhere. “If they had that in their mind vs. something in the thousands perhaps. And I don’t even know. I don’t want to say.”
The thinking is that the fees will be much lower than five figures.
“Our frame of reference has been things like at the Twins stadium and the Gophers’ TCF Stadium,” Kelm-Helgen said. The Twins applied PSL fees in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 for a “small number of premium seats,” per the Associated Press. The University of Minnesota charges an extra $100 to $500 per season ticket annually, based on the location of the seat.
It could be that Governor Mark Dayton picked the fight to ensure that the Vikings wouldn’t try to gouge season-ticket holders. Though along the way he came off as clueless regarding the contents of the stadium bill that he signed into law, Dayton successfully got the attention of the folks who’ll decide whether the Vikings are charging too much for PSLs.
Regardless, the folks who ultimately should make that decision are the fans. If the Vikings charge too much, then the tickets and the PSLs won’t sell. It’s basic economics, and the fact that the highest levels of government in Minnesota don’t understand this could shed light on the budgetary woes facing state and federal government from sea to shining sea.