urbanMSP

Billionares don't get to be that rich by spending their own money. Indeed. Sometimes they get rich by illegally fudging stock option records in order to maximize gains! And really successful billionaires like Bill McGuire also understand how to escape investigation by paying the Securities and Exch...

As you can see, a private stadium paying property taxes doesn't make enough profit year over year to cover the interest on the bond payments. If, however, the stadium were publicly owned and financed through city bonds at a lower rate then the franchise would make enough to cover it... So the city ...

An update...

http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/ ... /28036283/

Ah yes. You make an excellent point.

But seriously, last year there was only one game in which people left early in droves. I think more often than not, it’s going to be mass hysteria coming through those huge doors.

All at once, tens of thousands of folks will pour through the largest doors on the planet and rush westward toward the tracks and beyond. Isn't it more effective for Metro Transit to argue that the bridge is a safe way to accommodate the throngs, rather than to argue that it's a time saver? Seems li...

Actually, $1 million a year will go toward transit. That’s 17% of the total.

http://www.swnewsmedia.com/shakopee_val ... 2bf14.html

Last year the VIkings sold season tickets for as little as $350. That’s not too terribly exorbitant. And they were priced as low as $279 the prior year at the dome.

Is the lack of a Royalston station really a factor? Soccer fans have been trekking out to Blaine for years. How many of ‘em would actually forego attending a match solely because they’d rather not walk 1/4 mile from Target Field Station to the stadium?

Am I crazy/wrong for wanting them to have no lane markings whatsoever

There are no lane markings whatsoever on Water St. in Excelsior. Works just fine.

It was noted last year that McGuire met with Bloomington’s mayor. But I don’t recall hearing that MOA was either in on the discussion or had any interest whatsoever in selling land. And even if Bloomington were possible, how anxious is McGuire to tell MLS that the urban paradise he’d seduced ‘em wit...

their facility will only impact 1000 MN residents Only 1,000? Won’t this facility impact everyone in our area who orders from Amazon? Apart from that, it’s a different kind of negotiation. Shakopee knows that if they don’t sweeten the deal with Amazon, another suburb undoubtedly will. Amazon has al...

Senate votes 61-4 against state money for McGuire.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/sta ... 01961.html

This case is different for several reasons. - The stadium will be privately owned, making public money much less palatable - The ratio of the cost of the stadium to the income of the owners is much smaller (i.e. "They can afford it.") - The ask is so small that it invites the question of ...

The F&C article says that the MSFA will spend an extra $2 million on plaza improvements. My guess is that the money will be used to turn the top of the parking ramp into a mostly empty gathering space. They estimate 26,000 fans will take transit to the games. And I think the MSFA just wants to b...

Pedestrian bridge update:

http://finance-commerce.com/2015/04/dea ... an-bridge/

Tell him no. The stadium will get built. And the state WILL get that money. Everybody wins.

If tax breaks on materials is all he wants, we should absolutely say no. There’s not a chance in hell that McGuire will abandon his MLS quest simply because he has to pay tax on construction materials. Call his bluff. He’ll shrug his shoulders and pay for the whole thing himself. Everybody wins.

The owner of the old Armory, an underused property abutting the Commons to the south, also is pushing a new idea that could be the first domino to fall in this corridor. The plan envisions turning the cavernous building into a mixed-use space for events as varied as concerts and Vikings ­activities...

Not sure if there was any doubt remaining, but it now looks like a certainty that 5th St. between Chicago and Park will be removed permanently. Downtown East will be far far more accommodating to pedestrians and bikes than it's ever been.

I’m reading things like “it made me uncomfortable; I was worried; it stressed me out like you wouldn't believe; I felt the need to remain vigilant” and “actual fear of my own personal safety.” I also see “blacks are more likely to make a ruckus; there pretty clearly is a behavior issue; a bit of it ...