Reinert proposes Duluth’s former U.S. Steel site for Vikings stadium
February 9, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
Shakopee made a stab at it. Arden Hills was tops for a while. Minneapolis has had two sites on the table. So why not Duluth?
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I give Reinert credit for trying,,, you never know,,, it could happen,
but not likely.
Hinckley or Shakopee should be high on the list for a new VikeQueen stadium …
Esko has too much rock, brush and clay…..
But the truth is,,,, what’s wrong with the Metro Dome ?????
Eight games a year and the Metro Dome has a new $18 million dollar roof too boot ?!!?
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I have. Many football, baseball, and a few basketball games. I was always warm and dry. Always had a good view of the action. Never waited unacceptably long for concession service nor a restroom. I know it’s trendy to belittle the MetroDome, but I don’t agree with those who do. You realize that before prodigal Minnesota built the new TCF football stadium for the Gophers the MetroDome was the NEWEST stadium in the Big 10? We seem to consider stadiums like paper plates at a company picnic.
Spend ten per cent of what a new Vikings stadium would cost on upgrading the Metrodome (that would still be more that the ‘Dome cost to build) and it would serve well for another thirty years.
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The state of MN is promoting drinking and gambling to help fund this Viking stadium project.
The state may as well legalize prostitution too,,, to help fund this project.
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The project is unnecessary — but if revenue can be collected from drinking, gambling, and , as you suggest, prostitution, it should be used to reduce our debt, property taxes, income taxes, fees, licenses. Building another stadium when we already have a perfectly serviceable one is daffy.
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Mission accomplished, Mr. Reinert got his name in the paper and just like mayor Ness & his ‘new’ casino talk he has the illusion he is doing something other than publicly toss out wild ideas that aren’t going to happen. Maybe they should both focus on getting a Keebler cookie factory instead. Those magic elves would sure come in handy!
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Me thinks he drinks too much! This guy needs more to do.
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The US Steel site wouldn’t be any less of a cleanup than the Arden Hills site.
Then add in the fact that this is a ridiculously stupid idea, is just a media ploy and even IF it was possible, would mean tens of thousands of cars going up and down I-35 every Sunday, many of whom would be driven by drunks, yeah., totally dumb idea.
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This has a zero, I repeat, ZERO chance of ever getting done. It won’t even be considered and is so proposterus it’s not even newsworthy.
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Who knew we had such a gem of a site right here under our nose! Thanks to Rep. Roger Reinert for sniffing this one out and bringing it forward. Seriously Rep. Reinert, back on task now, quite wasting our time to get your name in the paper. This idea really stinks! Roger…Roger???
Hot debate. What do you think?
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If and when the stadium gets built somewhere in the metro area; and, if and when metro area politicians talk about how it benefits the entire state; and, if and when metro area politicians therefore push to spread the tax increase into greater Minnesota, or divert funds from here to the metro area project…. then Mr. Reinert should stand up and say… “No. You want us to pay … build it in Duluth.” Perhaps there is a method to this madness.
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Jeez I hope Reinert is proposing this tongue in cheek.
It is obvioiusly absurd but then ALL the proposals are absurd. I hope that’s his point.
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I posted this yesterday, but the DNT must have not liked how the comments shaped out. Why do they just not merge the comments, or let them run like the Star Trib.
I want to bring a line up that is not mentioned in this story, but is in the Star Tribune version. This is from the DNT: “But he does have a way to help finance the stadium. Reinert has included in the letter to the governor his longstanding but so-far unsuccessful plan to allow Minnesota liquor stores to open on Sundays. That would bring the state an extra $10.5 million in taxes each year that’s now going to neighboring states, Reinert said, revenue that could go to help pay back stadium debt.”
And from the Star Trib: “To help pay for the new stadium, Reinert wants to open up the state for Sunday liquor sales, a cause he has unsuccessfully championed before. Adding Sunday liquor sales would bring in about $10.6 million a year, Reinert said, which is about $20 million shy of the money the state will need to pay its share of the debt for a stadium.
But a 2011 Minnesota Department of Revenue estimate of Sunday liquor sales predicted the change would bring in far less, around $500,000 a year.”
There is a huge difference between 500k and 10 million. Typical DFL math, and typical DNT covering for the DFL in town.
In my opinion, this whole notions of Roger’s is just laughable. Plus it was widely known that Dayton set a specific deadline. Why should Duluth and Roger get a pass on that?
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To be fair, the DNT story on this was published prior to the Trib story, and it was the Star Tribune’s reporters that dug up that fact and published it.
You don’t think that a more likely explanation as to why the DNT did not report on this is that the DNT staff is poorly paid and not likely to dig deeply into a proposal that they know full-well has no chance in hell?
I mean, why would they waste their time digging up facts to debunk something like this?
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Reinert mentions that light rail will be coming soon and could be used to transport fans from the cities to Duluth for games. Drilling down into this to highlight the absurdity of a comment like that, let’s assume all 70k fans travel from the cities for the game and all of them take the train. On the high end maybe the train will accomodate 500 passengers for the two hour trip. Doing the math, it would take 140 trips, and 11.6 days to get everyone here. I realize not everyone would come here from the cities for the game, but honestly what is the capacity of this train, and this indicates a lack of leadership and foresight by a public official in making such stupid comments. And where is the local news media calling out the absurdities?? Come on Roger…Roger??
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Not very green is it.
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ok but you could let us dream for a minute about it! It’s the only good idea for our tax money I’ve heard in a long while! And here’s a shocker.. Ness doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Now we have to do it!
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“I’d love to have the Vikings stadium in Duluth. We have not seriously pursued the idea because of the need for a local match; it’s simply not feasible for our region to come up with $300 million,” Ness said. “I don’t know any of the details of this concept, but if Roger sees a viable opportunity to build a stadium in Duluth without putting the tax burden on our residents, I’m all for it.” ———- Sounds like Ness is fully on board, as long as there’s a way to fund it other than sticking it to local taxpayers – You just got caught in a lie. Isn’t this what you would want your mayor to say? Apparently your childish jealousy of Mr. Ness has clouded your sense of reality.
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Move the Vikes to LA. Go Packers!
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Don’t ya just love how the NFL just got done carving up the juicy fat revenue pie and left nothing for the fans. It’s not a suggestion that we the people pay for America’s favorite pass time, it’s a requirement. It’s bad enough that everyone is so brainwashed that $15 trillion in debt is no big deal; oh how in the hell can we ever contemplate life without the Vikings.
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Okay, the roof broke but now it’s fixed. I too would love to see the stadium in the Gary New Duluth area, even though I live in Southern MN and have enjoyed games at the Metrodome, as well as TCF stadium. However, no public funding should be provided unless we get a share of revenue and a contract binding the NFL to stay in MN until our return on investment has been recovered and supplemented for an additional 15 years.
Yes, you know public revenue won’t happen. In my opinion, the need for a stadium is more of an extortion for a construction contract than anything else. You can see the same “build-us-a-stadium” or we’ll leave tantrum being played at other places around the country. The rich guys should build their own stadium or don’t let the door hit them on the way out.
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I hope it happens, I doubt it but, I hope it happens. I was a Green Bay Packer fan when I was young, until one game my dad informed me, “Son, we now have a team called the Minnesota Vikings. You can root for the Green Bay Packers when they do not play against the Vikings, but when the Vikings play we root for them or you go outside and play.” I have been an avid Vikings fan ever since. I do not want to see the Vikings leave Minnesota. I understand and agree it would be nice to have a new stadium.
Where should the money come from?
1. The area or close proximity to where the stadium is built.
2. The state of Minnesota.
3. The team ownership.
4. The members of the team.
The percentages as to how obligations are divided, should be directly proportional to the monetary gain the individuals/organizations will stand reap
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Though it will never happen unless there is a magical way in and out of the are during football season, at least someone is trying to use this abandoned property that no other ideas can also fill though possibly through this idea and all the talk someone will realize this area is open and make use of the property. How about some kind of dog/horse racing track that will benefit the city and the new Vikings mansion? How about a drag racing track that could help the metro mansion?
Heres some other ideas for Mayor Ness and the Duluth Economic Disaster Association
1. Build the St. Louis River Aquarium
2. The real “Bayfront” Park
3. More needed parking for Spirit Mountain’s proposed lower chalet
All of these should have a low impact on traffic in and out of the area.
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