Gov. Pawlenty on Vikings Stadium tax

Pawlenty: 7-county tax for stadium won't fly

Excerpt:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty clipped the wings off the latest concept for building a new Minnesota Vikings stadium, saying Monday there is no political support for a seven-county metrowide sales tax to finance a $900 million stadium with a retractable roof.

Such a tax "isn't going to fly," Pawlenty told reporters in response to questions after an event in St. Paul. "The counties aren't going to support it. The people in the metro region aren't going to support it. I'm not going to support it."

Pawlenty also said the Vikings are "in a real pickle" because they don't have a host community where public officials are united in accepting the financing burden.


Stadium Subsidies Scalp The Public

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Proponents of taxpayer handouts for the stadium argue that public money spent on a new stadium is a good investment. They could not be further from the truth. Studies done by independent economists, not those paid for by stadium proponents or the professional sports cartel, show that there is no real economic benefit from public subsidies of sports stadiums. A study done by Robert Baade of Lake Forest College studied 30 cities over 30 years and found that 27 experienced no significant impact from new stadiums while three cities experienced a negative economic impact.

A recent report done by the boosters of stadium subsidies has made wholly unsubstantiated claims about the economic benefits a new stadium for the Red Sox. A Smith College economist, Andrew Zimbalist, one of the nation's leading experts on the economics of professional sports, called the report ''fatally flawed.''

However, stadium subsidies have benefited one segment of society. Team owners enjoy windfall profits when they turn around and sell.