In the 2005 legislative session the Anoka County Board (with one exception - Rhonda Sivarajah) and the City of Blaine proposed building a new Vikings Stadium on land near the Northwest corner of I-35W and Lexington Avenues in Blaine, Minnesota. The Anoka County finance plan for the Stadium was adopted by the County and City of Blaine, subject to the MN legislature adopting an enabling Bill.

Proponents continue to push the plan. If the stadium bill passes the legislature, Anoka County alone would be responsible for up to two thirds of the cost of the project to be included in a "Master Planned community called The Preserve at Rice Creek".

• The Minneapolis Metrodome where the Vikings currently play was built for $190 million in today’s dollars.
• The total cost of the new stadium building alone is estimated at $790 million, and the Bill does not mention how to pay for the cost of:

• Site preparation
• Water, sewer, utility improvements
• Road and interchange reconstruction
• Parking
• Extra jail space
• Extra police
• Extra fire fighters
• Tear-down costs when the building becomes obsolete
• Cost overruns

• The Anoka County Board has said it would be responsible for up to $240,000,000.00, or 1/3 of the cost, but does not put a cap on this amount.
• According to the Stadium Bill, The Vikings team would be responsible for one third of the cost. The State would be responsible for one third. This means if you live in Anoka County you would be paying the 1/3 county taxes and the 1/3 for the state taxes as well.
• The Anoka Vikings Stadium would host 10 games per season, leaving this building at the far north edge of the metro area to find revenue-producing tenants for the other 355 days of the year. This facility would have to compete with other more convenient, central venues like the National Sports Center, Xcel Energy Center, Target Center and the Metrodome.
• Any billionaire owner of the Vikings can sell the team and make a lot more money if the taxpayers build him a stadium.
• The most recent bill sets up an independent "stadium authority" that makes all the decisions about the stadium including who pays what taxes and how much is charged. The Bill language states:

" The authority may require that a reserve fund for capital improvements to the stadium be set up and may require the teams and the host communities’ governments to contribute to the fund in a manner and on the terms the authority determines."

The capital improvements are not specified and the amount of the fund is not indicated. The Governor appoints all seven of the Authority members. While once again avoiding the appearance of raising taxes, Governor Pawlenty will appoint an ‘Authority' that writes itself a blank check.

• Dan Erhart, former Chairman and current commissioner on the Anoka County Board, has stated that he does not want the citizens of Anoka County to vote on the taxes necessary to finance the County’s share of the cost. Currently these include but are not limited to:

• Countywide Sales Tax of 0.75%
• Taxes on bars restaurants lodging, and any other entertainment.
• Ticket and parking taxes at the stadium
• In-stadium sales and income taxes.
• "Captured Taxes" from so-called new revenues generated within the stadium district.
• There is no other group in Minnesota who will accept these financing terms. The City of Eden Prairie left the table when they saw the numbers.

• There is no similar creative financing plan when it comes to our schools. Centennial Middle School District #12's test scores have fallen 4% in the last 2 years and according to the 6/9/03 minutes of the District 12 School Board, 18 teachers were laid off or had cut back hours for the 2003-2004 school year.
• The "Project Overview" of the Preserve at Rice Creek states that thousands of jobs will be created. It never answers these questions: Are these new jobs created as a direct result of the taxpayer-funded stadium or are they jobs created by the rest of the "Preserve Project"? How many are "living wage", or "permanent jobs" -- with benefits? How many jobs are just displaced from another part of the Metro area?
• The New England Patriots paid for their own Stadium at a cost of $325 million and went on to win the Super Bowl...two years in a row.

Giving taxpayer money to the wealthiest segment of our society has been tried many times in the past. It has failed to provide the promised economic boost.

This concept is not new. When Ronald Reagan ran against George Bush Sr., Reagan proposed an economic plan to give money to big businesses with the hope that they would turn around and provide jobs. You may recall that Bush Sr. called this "Voodoo Economics". The author of this plan, David Stockman, later admitted that he didn’t even believe his own idea.

The "trickle down economics" plan has since failed under 3 different presidents. Why should we believe it would work for Minnesota and Anoka County now?