If you have followed the news here in beautiful Minnesota, you'll know that the State's share of the stadium cost is supposed to come from some increased gambling revenues. If you have followed the news a little bit more closely, you'll know that those revenues (shockingly) have not been coming in the way the State projected them to.
There's sadly nothing new about a private ownership group wrangling a sweetheart deal from the public. There's nothing new about that public entity finding out that the funding isn't quite coming along as nicely as they had hoped, or extending their estimates for how long it will take pay off the public's share.
So what makes today's announcement special? Because Governor Dayton got in there, and made it weird: Dayton Says He Has Secret Plan For Secure Stadium Funding. And no, that link does not go to The Onion. I wish it did.
When asked about his secret plan, Dayton said he didn't want to ruin the surprise. Also, he said that whatever his secret plan is, it is "something you've never imagined", and that it wouldn't increase the Vikings stake.
Given the ridiculous ideas that have been thrown out there to get this stadium funding, the very idea that there is something, anything out there that hasn't been imagined is really hard to believe. The State House just passed a bill that paves the way for gay marriage - maybe Dayton is going to tax lavish ceremonies?
In all seriousness, the legislature is running out of time to come up with any fix before their session ends. Given the complexity of the issue, and Dayton's fairly earned reputation for being a somewhat lovable kook, to say that a Last Minute Funding Surprise should fill folks with trepidation seems like a bit of an undersell. Stay tuned, y'all.
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2 comments:
Brothels?
Dan Barreiro of KFAN suggested he would guess that was solution, if Jesse Venture were still Governor.
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