Let me see if I get it: we gave a lot of money, and are being taxes to build two

[question everything]

stadiums within a few miles of each other.

And now our cities will not have enough funds to, say, clear the snow?

I want another vote. I want my stadium-tax to go to my city for necessary services.

As far as I am concerned they can stop working on these stadiums at midnight tonight. They can raise prices of tickets and whatever they sell there for the ones who actually care.

[Eric J in MN]

1. Was there a vote on a stadium tax?

If so, what was the result?

[question everything]

2. In 2006. This was when our taxes went from 6.5 to 6.65%

Found these references in the strib:

Since last year, Hennepin County, which is providing major funding for the stadium through a countywide sales tax,

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/11695161.html


and

The team stumbled, but its owner had a fabulous year. According to Forbes magazine, Pohlad's net worth increased to $3.1 billion, up a cool $500 million from a year ago. It's probably just coincidence, but that's the same amount that the people of Hennepin County will pay in extra sales taxes for the new Twins ballpark, which is scheduled to open three seasons from now.

http://www.startribune.com/local/11591026.html


and

he state's most populous county is levying a 0.15 percent countywide sales tax to help build the stadium. Hennepin County also is responsible for acquiring the stadium property near Target Center.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/11694071.html (from 3/21/07)

[cynthia]

3. No there was never a vote

In fact, many years ago we had a vote (that was approved) to put a law in place saying that no stadiums would be built with taxpayer funds WITHOUT a vote.

But the Twins wanted a stadium and the powers that be knew that the voters would not vote for giving them the funds for it. So they made a deal with the Hennepin County Commissioners, which said, in effect, if you will go to bat for us, we'll build it in Hennepin County (basically the city of Minneapolis - home of the current Twin stadium - the Metrodome).

Peter McLaughlin, on the Hennepin County Commissioners, took this and ran with it. He got the Commissioners to approve raising the taxes to fund a stadium for the Twins (on a 5-4 vote) and then went to the Legislature to get the Legislature to allow the County to go ahead with this deal and ignore the law that said that they had to take it to the voters. The legislature (thanks to votes from outstate legislators -whose consituents would never be affected by the new tax) voted to allow the Hennepin County Commissioners go through with it, and now every purchase made within Hennepin County (including the Mall of America) has an extra tax added to it, to build the Twins Stadium with NO ROOF right next to the downtown garbage burner.

Just wait, within one year of the stadium opening up, they'll be back to get more money from us to put a roof on the thing!

Sorry this is such a long rant. Had to get the record straight. When we don't know history, we are doomed to repeat it.

[dflprincess]

4. The way the new Twins stadium is being built - it can't have a retractable roof added

I'm not sure they could add any kind of a roof at all to it. Whatever idiot decided they didn't need some kind of roof on a baseball stadium in Minnesota should be forced to sit through every game regardless of the weather.

I was at the opening day game last year - March 31st - it was cold and it was snowing. I've maintained that by the end of the first April in the new stadium, they'll be screaming they need an even newer one.

I feel bad that this coming spring will be the last time I attend a game on opening day because, as much as I like baseball, I don't like it enough to freeze my butt off when I can watch it on T.V.. One year we went to a Saints game on the 4th of July when it was so cold we were drinking hot chocolate and we wound up leaving early. I've sat through some cold, wet little league games as well, you can never depend on having good baseball weather in Minnestoa.

I also probably won't go to as many games. Usually my friends and I buy tickets to several games at Twins Fest in January, but I'm not going to do that when I can't be sure there will even be a game or what the weather will be like the day of the game.

[question everything]

5. Thanks. I never knew the details, only that every purchase and service

like gym dues - has had extra taxes added.

I agree with the roof. Not a sports fan myself, but the kind of weather that we have here year round - it is crazy.

[cynthia]

6. And has anyone ever noticed that the rains most often arrive in late afternoon?

or early evening? a tad inconvenient for baseball games that start at 6:30 pm, wouldn't ya think?

Of course, someone could have come up with statistics for the County Commissioners to lay it out in black and white, how often the games would be rained out, but it wouldn't matter, because they didn't listen to anyone but the Twins organization.