> The biggest downside to me of this investment is that I don't see firm > commitments from the team to provide affordable seats, and I don't see > any way our investment can be protected against major league baseball > going on a contraction binge. I understand the Twins are supposed to > be committed to fighting contraction, but that isn't like having a > nice fat penalty clause to cash out if the team goes away, is it?
read david's article. it says that the twins are comitted to family seating and something like student night. they also said prices would be inline with other midwest cities, which, the dome is right now. also noted was the contraction issue. the ballpark comission gets 50% or the contraction money and any costs incurred by losing the tenant. my apologies to david if i got the numbers wrong. > Note also that there WAS a referendum about the new Library. And the > Guthrie provides service to the entire state, traveling around, > offering presentations for school kids, etc. It's not a for-profit > deal the way the Twins are, much less an organization that pretty much > one person's property. the twins do clinics for kids around the state all summer long. their games can be seen and heard all across the state. the guthrie makes you pay for a seat to all performances. it may not be for profit but, the people running the show certainly make money and i bet it isn't a pittance. > I'm looking at what's happening to our schools, and I think there's a > real question to be asked here "OK, baseball is a real asset. Is it > worth more than a generation of well-educated kids?" *All* spending > decisions have to be evaluated in context, because whatever you spend > on one thing you can't spend on something else. We don't just have to > ask whether baseball is a real asset, but what we are willing to > sacrifice to it. we are not sacrificing education for baseball if this deal goes through. education doesn't lose a penny in this deal. > No, because people will drive to downtown, park their cars, go to the > games, and then drive home. This won't anchor the downtown. Block E > type stuff will do a lot more to anchor the downtown. the only thing block e has that is better is the businesses inside are open 365 where the ball park will sit unused many days of the year. john harris webber-camden REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
