When it was built in 1995, St. Louis’ Edward Jones Dome was one of the biggest public financing projects in stadium history. The stadium cost $256 in bonds but by the time the debt on those is paid off, the public will have kicked in $720 million. The dome was designed to lure an NFL team back to St. Louis, which it did. But the most significant part of that effort was the lease that St. Louis signed with the Rams ownership. The lease requires the city to keep the stadium in the “top tier” of NFL stadiums or else the Rams can break their 30-year lease. What exactly constitutes “top tier” is the multimillion dollar question though.

The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission on February 1 offered up a $124 million plan for a new stadium, windows and club seats. But that’s not near enough for the Rams. The team wants a retractable roof and the demolition of half the stadium for other purposes. They haven’t officially put a price tag on their requested renovations, but a construction company estimates it will be $700 million and would make the convention center largely useless for two years.

If the Rams are to stay in St. Louis, the team and the city will have to meet somewhere between $124 million and $700 million, but it may ultimately be up to an arbitrator to decide what renovations are necessary for a “top-tier” stadium. But rest assured, whatever those renovations are, they are sure to cost the public a lot more money…

(H/t FieldofSchemes.com)

The Minnesota Vikings have received their massive public subsidy for a new stadium. The Minnesota legislature passed stadium legislation and all that’s left is for Gov. Mark Dayton to sign the bill, which he will likely do. According to the AP:

The deal guarantees the Vikings’ future in Minnesota for three decades.

The team would pay 49 percent of construction costs: $477 million, which is $50 million more than owners initially committed. But the public expense is still high: $348 million for the state and $150 million for the city of Minneapolis.

But according to Field of Schemes author and stadium expert Neil deMause, Minneapolis’ share will end up being much higher:

The city of Minneapolis will put in $150 million in cash plus $189 million over 30 years for operating costs, a total that (counting the cost of borrowing the money, since the taxes to pay for it will be tied up paying off the convention center for the next few years) should come to around $375-525 million in present value.

Let’s just hope Minneapolis doesn’t have to start slashing social services when the debts begin to pile up, as Hamilton County (Cincinnati) has had to do to pay off their stadium debt…

The long saga of the Minnesota Vikings quest for public financing of a new stadium could reach a climax today, with votes set in the Minneapolis House and Senate on stadium proposal. That proposal calls for the state to kick in $400 million and the city of Minneapolis to spend $150 million. The Vikings would pay $427 million.

Of course, many in the media are suggesting that if the stadium financing does fall through, this could be the last season for the Vikings in Minnesota. Which is ridiculous. Where are the Vikings going to go? There is no feasible alternative for them. Not in LA or anywhere else. It’s all smoke and mirrors designed to manipulate lawmakers into voting to spend public money on a new stadium.

We’ll keep you posted on today’s votes.

Stay tuned…

Here’s more on the latest developments: Vikings Stadium Plan Will Get Monday Vote

And if you need a refresher on what’s happened up until now, click here.

There’s a huge battle going on in Minnesota right now over whether or not to subsidize the Minnesota Vikings new stadium. If you’re a regular reader of SportsFans.org, you’re well aware of the history of this battle, but if not, click here for some old posts. In the latest developments, Minnesota Republicans are apparently pushing a roofless stadium plan (roof could be added on later) but Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton isn’t happy. It remains to be seen how this will turn out, but it will likely be resolved one way or another in the next few days, as legislators are trying to adjourn for the year to go home and campaign.  Click here for more.

Sports Fans Coalition continues to stress that 1) if the Vikings want a new stadium, they should pay for their own 2) there is no real threat of the team leaving Minnesota because there’s no alternative stadium in place anywhere else 3) the people of Minneapolis must have a public vote if they are expected to kick in $150 million and 4) if the state and Minneapolis voters do agree to use public money build a new stadium, there should be certain caveats like affordable seating and a ban on television blackouts.