I just hope that Gov. Dayton does not change his mind on the stadium after it passes and veto it. He has a proven track record of doing this over the course of the past few weeks. People better call Gov. Dayton too!

The May 5th version of the bill sure does mention soccer a lot more...

19.21
Subd. 4. Lease or use agreements; revenues, payments.
A lease or use agreement shall include rent and other fees and expenses to be paid by the NFL team. The authority shall agree to provide in the lease or use agreement for the NFL team to receive all NFL and team event related revenues, including but not limited to, suite revenues, advertising, concessions, signage, broadcast and media, and club seat revenue. The agreement shall also provide that all naming rights to the stadium are retained by the NFL team, subject to the approval of the name or names by the authority consistent with those criteria set out in the lease or use agreement. The agreement shall provide for the authority to receive all general ticket revenues and other event revenues other than from NFL team games, NFL team-owned major league soccer games, and other NFL team events agreed to by the authority.


21.25
Subd. 15. Major league soccer.
The authority shall, for five years after the first NFL team home game is played in the stadium, grant the NFL team the exclusive right to establish major league soccer at the stadium. The authority and the NFL team may enter into an agreement providing the terms and conditions of such an arrangement, provided:

(1) if any of the NFL team owners whose family owns at least three percent of the NFL team purchases full or partial ownership in a major league soccer franchise, such franchise may play in the stadium under a use agreement with similar terms as are applicable to the NFL team at no additional rent, but including a provision of payment of game-day costs and reasonable marginal costs incurred by the authority as a result of the major league soccer team; and

(2) capital improvements required by a major league soccer franchise must be financed by the owners of the major league soccer team, unless otherwise agreed to by the authority.


*Wondering why Zigy's guys put off a scheduled meeting with the MLS over the weekend though?

Unrelated, and a different bill, but we have at times talked about how and where the NSC gets its money...

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/amend/a12-1013.pdf

19.28 $375,000
Sec. 14. AMATEUR SPORTS
To the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission to replace HVAC heating and cooling units in the Indoor Sports Hall at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

I have the day off and am watching the debate on the Benson, M amendment to the Lanning bill (HF 2810). It is about the funding source of gambling.

http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/bills/billinf.php?ls=87&billnum=HF%202810

Live coverage (click on Live Event link)
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/htv/schedule.asp

This is a bad way to build a public stadium, no doubt about it.
Kindy shady way the site came back to Minneapolis...


Issues being debated:
-Gambling as a source of funding
-A new site selection process

Back to the game...

If this Benson amendment has just focused on user fees,gambling, and other funding issues and not tried to open the location of the stadium up again, I might support it.

Benson dropped the site selection part of the amendment and the alternative way of funding the stadium bill was voted down.

Now the rep from Circle Pines wants all the games to be broadcast free, with no blackouts for the "People's Stadium" plan. She talked about the NFL planning to put all the games on a pay per view channel someday. She talked about ticket prices going up in the new stadium.

She's getting beat up pretty bad on the house floor because she put up an incomplete plan on how to do it.

It was a great idea for all the people of Minnesota.

It went down faster then the Titanic... The votes are strongly behind the NFL money, that should be clear now. The Lanning Bill will most likely pass, this has been nothing but a big show for the local reps to explain why they had to spend the money for the Vikings.

An amendment to the bill by rep Simon from Mpls to change the amount of money the owner has to pay if they decide to sell the team after the stadium is built. It also changes where that money would go (in to the general fund not to the stadium authority). That bill passed easily.

Simon who's father was an pro athlete agent made the estimate that if the team was sold after the stadium bill went through the owner could make about $400,000,000+ for owning the team for less than 8 years.

Yup.

Yup.

I did not see your comments before deciding to delete my remarks... Sorry, it was just a political opinion and I was trying not to include those. I see you may have agreed with my views of pull tab gambling being a very regressive tax form collection method after the stadium is paid for.