MPR: McCombs' Turn

McCombs' Turn
By Michael Khoo
August 12, 1999

While St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman's plans to build a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins has grabbed recent headlines, another stadium drive is afoot. Vikings owner Red McCombs has been lobbying city, county, and state officials for a new football stadium. McCombs took his pitch directly to Governor Jesse Ventura, who has been a vocal opponent of publically subsidized sports facilities.

MCCOMBS VISITED THE GOVERNOR for just over half an hour behind closed doors. Afterwards, he described the meeting as positive and said he looked forward to future discussions with Ventura.

McCombs: I brought up the stadium and indicated that the Vikings program was in a very delicate situation as far as the stadium is concerned. We need to look at some ways to fix it. We're looking at ways. If he had any thoughts, we would be glad to have them.

McCombs says the Metrodome, which the Vikings currently share with the Minnesota Twins, does not generate enough revenues to keep the team competitive into the future. He has proposed building a $400 million football stadium and has offered to contribute 25 percent of the cost; leaving taxpayers to pick up the rest. McCombs says he didn't ask the governor for state money, nor did Ventura offer any.

The governor declined to comment on the meeting, but spokesman John Wodele says his opposition to using taxpayer dollars for professional sports is unchanged. McCombs, however, is clearly intent on turning up the stadium heat. Late last month, he sent a letter to west-metro officials expressing his disappointment with what he called "an absence of progress" on the issue. Hennepin County Board chair Randy Johnson received a copy of the letter.

Johnson: Apparently he's a type-A personality who thinks that the faster and sooner you ask for a big amount of money, the more likely you are to get something. He may be underestimating the feeling that professional sports, with all of its problems, is really not the highest priority on the minds of Minnesota taxpayers right now.

County board member Penny Steele says she sees no support for publically-funded stadiums. Last month, Steele offered a resolution to prohibit tax dollars for professional sports facilities. That measure was subsequently tabled. Steele also received a copy of the McCombs letter.

Steele: You know, obviously, he'd like to have people to step up and help solve his problem for him. I understand what his issues are, but, you know, I don't see a lot of elected officials - certainly not myself - that are willing to commit to some kind of public funding.

But county board chair Johnson and others say they remain open to discussing the issue. Johnson says it's a matter of calculating the appropriate costs and benefits to the public. Earlier this summer, Hennepin County and Minneapolis considered raising the county sales tax by one-half percent. The increase would have provided for infrastructure improvements, property tax relief, and funding for new stadiums for both the Twins and the Vikings. The proposal has been on hold while the Twins negotiate with St. Paul, but Vikings owner McCombs praised the idea.

McCombs: We really like the proposal that Mayor Sharon has been working on which would involve the city of Minneapolis and the county. But that looks to us to be a very, very good solution. But that's a long way from being done.

A long way from being done and perhaps a bit premature. Henry Savelkoul is the chair of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission which owns and operates the Metrodome. He says the Vikings lease runs until 2012 and he expects the team to honor that.

Savelkoul: I don't believe that they have a reason to be impatient. I believe they have a contract. And I believe that these kinds of projects, if they're going to be done, have to have a very extensive education and understanding program. And I don't think that in this particular political climate it's just going to be possible to push it through.

The Sports Facilities Commission has put forth a plan for renovating the Metrodome as a football-only venue to address the Vikings' revenue concerns. Savelkoul says under the current lease, the team would be responsible for the renovation costs. Vikings officials have called the plan insufficient.

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