So Many Stadiums, So Little Time

Image by DavidErickson via FlickrAt a time when the state of Minnesota is facing a $6.2 billion deficit, pro and college sports teams are converging on the Legislature with their collective hands out.

We know about the Minnesota Vikings.  They want to leave the now-deflated Metrodome (or Mall of America Field, if you prefer) in the worst way, with the lease running out after next season.  Well, here's something new:  The Vikings have signed a letter of intent with Ramsey County to develop plans for a stadium on the site of an old Army munitions plant, which dates back to World War II.  Since letters of intent aren't legally binding, the Vikings are free to consider other sites in the area.  Even Los Angeles, where a proposed stadium made headlines for getting Farmers Insurance to pay for naming rights.

There are others who want new or improved facilities.  All we can say is, get in line.

• The St. Paul Saints want to replace Midway Stadium with a ballpark near the riverfront.
• The Metrodome needs a new roof.  It'll cost $18 million, with most of that coming from insurance money.  Hopefully, it'll be done by August.
• The University of Minnesota needs a new baseball field to replace the one that fell into disrepair.  The baseball program has been scrambling to find a place to play ever since.
• Target Center, home of the Timberwolves, is already one of the oldest arenas in the NBA.  The Wolves want millions for a facelift, knowing better than to ask for a new arena.  The city of Minneapolis, which owns the place, is still trying to pay for it two decades after it was built.
• The city of St. Paul needs help paying for the Xcel Energy Center, home of the NHL Minnesota Wild.

It's been suggested by Ted Mondale, who was recently appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to chair the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, that a new committee be set up to oversee all the sports venues that are now being run by different governing agencies.  Isn't there one already--the MSFC itself, which currently oversees the Metrodome?

It's not going to be easy selling all this to a Republican-dominated Legislature that would rather cut spending than add to the deficit, or to a public leery of spending state money on playgrounds for millionaires.  But if you believe in maintaining the quality of life in Minnesota, you have to start somewhere.