Two years ago, the Vikings were coming off a particularly Viking-like end to their season, what with the Almost-In-The-Super-Bowl and all that. Even after a season that saw them piss away the NFC Championship, the mood at the Capitol was very much one of, "Umm, are you really asking us for money?"
And now that T-Paw's jerry-rigging of the books has been laid plain, (and his Presidential run is getting strangled in the crib by Colbert), and the Vikings are coming off a 6-10 season, it seems that the Viking's stadium finance plan is maybe the only thing that will have bi-partisan agreement. Unfortunately for the Vikings, it seems to be borderline unanimous that they are crazy to be asking for money right now.
You know you are in trouble when Minnesota Democrats and Republicans agree that you aren't getting the money you are asking for. On the national level, consider that Minnesota is home of both Keith Ellison and Michele Bachmann. This is a weird state, with crazy divides between the left and right. And yet, everyone seems to be in agreement that the Vikings stadium is really, really, really low priority.
And they don't have a ton of support on the local level, either. From the Star Tribune's own reporting (seriously! Not the AP!), they have Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin saying that the Vikings stadium bill is "badly timed, badly designed and I hope it comes to a bad end. I wouldn't even start talking to the Vikings until they bring half a billion dollars to the table."
The Vikings have been nowhere near $500 million in their own proposed contributions to their new stadium. They've claimed, hilariously, that they would receive no benefit from a stadium with a retractable roof, and would therefore not help pay for that part of the new stadium.
The Vikings are getting the cold water in the face that they desperately need. The State of Minnesota is running a huge deficit and isn't going to spend taxpayer dollars on them when they could be (liberals=spending it on schools) or (conservatives=cutting taxes!). Either way, the Vikings picked a bad time to get all demanding.
1 comment:
It's nice that Minnesota is standing up against the absurdity. I know there's been a vague threat in the air that MN would lose to Vikes, maybe to LA. Hope that doesn't happen.
LA couldn't support the Raiders even though the won the Superbowl nor the Rams even though they had Dickerson. Pathetic. It's not a football town. But they have $$.
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