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Edited on Sat May-27-06 10:04 AM by SaveElmer
There is no doubt the Twins could have probably built this stadium on their own dime. In the panoply of stadium deals that have cropped up the last few years, this on comes in the middle. The Twins are contributing more toward the constuction than most owners do.
There are some upsides to public ownership.
1. The city and county have a significant say in how the stadium is developed, what it will look like etc. Had Carl done it himself, there would be no (or significantly less) input.
2. The County owns the stadium collecting rent from the Twins who are going to be signing a 30 year lease. Had Carl built in, this guarantee would not be there. The Twins are paying 130 million for a stadium they won't own.
3. The County can now collect the entertainment tax on tickets that they could not do before...a new city revenue stream
4. The state will own the Twins name, records and trophies if they ever do leave (after 30 years)
5. Twins are contributing money for library upgrades
6. And while over 30 years the public contribution is about 350 million. The actual yearly contribution is pretty small. It's like saying I'm a millionaire because I have made 50,000 a year for 20 years. The sales tax does not include clothing, food and medicine so it will not adversely impact the poor.
7. While it does stick in my craw a bit thet public money is being spent to support priivate business, it would feel even worse if the Twins left. And really, there is public investment in private industry all the time that goes uncommented on. Tax breaks to large corporations (Best Buy, 3M etc), convetion centers, infrastructure improvements. Ultiimately the Twins are an important community asset worth preserving. This deal does that in a relatively painless way.
Now I am going to go back and watch that masterful Liriano performance from last night!
7.
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