Author: David Shama

The Washington Nationals’ stadium that opened earlier this year is the first major league ballpark to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating, according to Newsweek magazine.  The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating is something the Twins hope to earn with their new stadium, too, said team president Dave St. Peter.

There are many elements that can factor in, St. Peter said, from collecting rain water for the playing field to using stone quarry that is being transported to the new ballpark from less than one hour away, saving on fuel costs.  Even the already in existence parking facilities near the stadium are environmentally friendly because new spaces don’t have to be constructed.

Recycled material can earn rating points from LEED, too.  The Twins ballpark, for example, will use the old Minneapolis Lakers playing floor in a stadium sports bar.

St. Peter said the LEED standards are much easier to apply to office buildings than outdoor stadiums but the Twins are committed to making their new ballpark as energy and environmentally effective as possible.  More will be known as to what all those elements are as the stadium nears completion next year.

St. Peter also said the Twins have asked major league baseball to host the 2014 All-Star game in the new stadium.  In even numbered years an American League team hosts the game but the Twins would accept a break in tradition if they were chosen for 2015.  That date would mean the Twins hosted All-Star games after 20 and 30 year breaks since the first game here was in 1965 and the second in 1985.

A reader e-mailed to ask my opinion on the recent news that a billionaire will build a Los Angeles area football stadium ready for business in 2011 and is looking for an NFL team to relocate.  The Vikings’ Metrodome lease expires in 2011.  Here was my reply: “No one knows yet what’s going to happen but we do know that Jacksonville and New Orleans are smaller markets than Minneapolis-St. Paul. Their teams also don’t have the tradition and legacy of the Vikings. The NFL might be particularly comfortable with moving a team from Florida since that state has three franchises.  Those are positives for worried Vikings fans.  So, too, is the fact Vikings’ owner Zygi Wilf has said he won’t move the team, although there’s opinion he might eventually sell the franchise if he can’t get a new stadium here.  My guess is the Vikings won’t relocate to Los Angeles or anywhere else, but I wouldn’t bet either way.”

The Vikings don’t have enough ends to fill up a defensive two-deep depth chart.  If they can’t arrange a deal to bring Kansas City’s star defensive end Jared Allen here, then the Sports Headliners’ guess is the team’s first round draft choice will be used on a college defensive end but it could be an offensive tackle or cornerback.

The draft pick by coach Brad Childress and others in the organization will be based on the best player available so the Vikings could draft someone on Saturday who doesn’t play any of those positions.  Not just ability, bu

Denny Schulstad, the prominent former Minneapolis city councilman who is now retired, told Sports Headliners recently he doesn’t think there will be a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.  Schulstad, who was a leader in the movement that resulted in the building of the Metrodome, believes renovation of the 26-year-old facility will be the ultimate solution to the Viking stadium problem.

Although the Vikings have repeatedly said a renovated Metrodome isn’t an acceptable alternative, there’s growing skepticism about the likelihood of funding a new football stadium at a cost of nearly $1 billion on the dome site.  About $250 million of the cost is expected to come from the Vikings and NFL, but presently no public funding option such as a portion of the state sales tax has been offered.  With the state budget pressed for other needs and economic growth slowing, both the proposed stadium cost and timing are difficult.

“I don’t think the economics will allow a billion dollar Vikings stadium,” Schulstad said.  “… I think that the site the Metrodome is on right now is the perfect site in downtown Minneapolis.  What they need to do is to totally remodel that stadium for the Vikings to use and for the community to continue using.  This roofed stadium was in use virtually every day of the year.

“And the Wilf family then needs to be given the development rights to develop some retail around the Metrodome which would be the moneymaker for them.  That’s good for Minneapolis because it dramatically increases the tax base.  It’s good for the Vikings because they would have a newly remodeled stadium in exactly the right spot. And it’s something that I think the state of Minnesota can afford, but they can’t afford a billion dollar stadium.”

Although Schulstad said he didn’t know how much a renovated dome will cost, some people will guess $400 million or more.  The Vikings have been adamant that only a new stadium will solve their revenue problem that for years has placed them near the bottom among NFL team revenues.  If plans develop as discussed in the past, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and his ownership group would also benefit from commercial development near the stadium.

Schulstad wants to see the $250 million from the Vikings and NFL go toward a renovated Metrodome, a stadium that has excellent sightlines for football and serves the community for a long list of money making and community events, but lacks the best in amenities that can generate revenues similar to most other NFL stadiums.  “If the Willf family is willing to put in their $250 million that they’ve been talking about and then they come to ask for some public support for a couple hundred million dollars, that’s do-able,” Schulstad said.  “When they come back asking for three-quarters of a billion dollars, that’s not going to happen.”

Schulstad doesn’t have a financing plan he’s advocating but suggests that new retail development near the stadium might be part of the formula.  A “tax increment financing district” where taxes from the new buildings “go into the pot” is a possibility, he said.

“There are a lot of creative people who are a lot smarter than I am to figure out that kind of financing,” Schulstad said.  “I just don’t see that the state or the taxpayers are going to be willing to throw in three quarters of a billion dollars.  I don’t see that happening.”

Meanwhile, Governor Tim Pawlenty, during an interview with Sports Headliners last week, said he doesn’t disagree that the Vikings need a new stadium.  However, he expressed no intent to provide support this legislative session.

“We don’t dispute that the Vikings need a new stadium,” Pawlenty said.  “It’s just a timing issue and how it gets structured and who pays for it. …So what we’ve tried to suggest to the Vikings is in light of the current economic challenge– in some peoples’ minds there’s a recession and a state budget deficit– they’d be well served to just let us address that first before we are asked to tackle the Vikings’ stadium issues.

“And Zygi Wilf said he will not move the team and we take him at his word but we also realize that the Metrodome is not going to be viable indefinitely and that it’s served us well, but we’re going to have to find another alternative for the Vikings.  We’re willing to work on that, but they can’t try to jam it this year when they know we’ve got bigger fish to fry and more important fish to fry this legislative session.”

With the Vikings’ Metrodome lease expiring after the 2011 season, there’s no doubt the stadium issue will be addressed more carefully by the legislature in 2009.  Escalating construction costs make delaying a new or renovated stadium a poor decision.  Plus, a new stadium will likely require three years or more to build, meaning the Vikings will temporarily relocate to the new Gopher stadium and likely lose further revenues.

Those with knowledge of the stadium situation believe Wilf won’t move the team but might sell the franchise if he doesn’t receive a stadium deal to his benefit.  Presumably a new ownership group mau then move the franchise that began here as an expansion team in 1961.

Where could the Vikings go? Any of several cities in the United States, plus Toronto, Canada, seem possibilities.  The enormous popularity of the NFL and the small number of games compared with other professional sports makes for a likelihood of success in various markets.

The kicker, though, is that any market will need a stadium offering top shelf revenues.  And that’s not easy to finance.  We know that.