urbanMSP

What I read on "Skyscrapercity" is the $50 million will be put into a capital improvement fund for future arena updates as needed to keep it competitive.

Target Field has a similar fund, which allows for incremental updates to the facility over time, without needing explicit new public funding to get it done. For example, I believe the 'video pole' in right field, and the secondary jumbotron were partially funded out of this. I'm glad to see more of a 'save for the future' attitude being applied to these facilities, rather than the old-fashioned default of 'let all the deficiencies pile up, then bond to do a massive fix-up'.

The difference between TC and TF is that the Twins put up the annual improvement fund at TF, where as it looks like the city is on the hook for TC.

The numbers in the streets article are eye opening.

https://streets.mn/2013/10/29/target-ce ... e-numbers/

We could have an amazing Minneapolis streetcar system if that was invested in transit. Heck let's go half transit so people can move around the city, and half education so people with children want to be in the city. Thus making the next generation want to be in the city.

Actually we could have the amazing street car system if they hadn't torn up the hundreds of miles of track and sold off the cars about 60 years ago.
I personally think the investment in the arena is a good thing. It needs some upgrades to compete with other venues in the cities and it's a much better alternative to building a new one in 5 -10 years.
We're already seeing a large investment in education. In 2009-2010 the average expenditure per student was $ 12,966; Minneapolis is projected to spend over $ 23,000 per student this year.

The F&C article says improvements will be done in phases, over a period of 18-24 months, beginning next summer. I assume no major exterior work will be done before the MLB All-Star Game in July, as sidewalk closures, lane closures or pretty much any impacts whatsoever would be totally unacceptable. That would be cool if they had a huge banner hung somewhere showing what the renovation will look like.

http://finance-commerce.com/2013/10/min ... nter-reno/

Given that the arena is used almost year-round now for basketball I wonder if the Lynx might need a temporary home for a bit while the bowl is redone?

again i don't understand people tripping out about what seems a sensible solution to upgrade this downtown asset and keep hundreds of thousands of people coming downtown spending money. sales taxes pay for this stuff. the fans buying beer at the nearby bars or having dinner before the games. this building is finally off the property tax backs of us mpls taxpayers.

just a certain segment are obsessed with stadiums/arenas and really perhaps should live out in the woods somewhere where they don't have to read or watch anything about sports i suppose. it's so awful and the end of the world for them. there will always be lots of things to spend money on...transit, education blah blah blah. we do spend a ton of money on these things.

i enjoyed heckling the two protesters at the target field groundbreaking back in '06. can anyone say with a straight face say that target field was a mistake and huge pox on the city of minneapolis? it's a gem and source of civic pride.

http://blogs.mprnews.org/stadium-watch/ ... il-review/
Funding breakdown from MPR:


$27.2 million for a new box office, lobby, stairwells, skyway connection to southwest parking, renovation to and new bathrooms, food courts and concessions, new bowl seating
$18.2 million: Contingency fees, consultants, etc.
$16.6 million: Technology upgrades including sound, acoustings, voice over IP, cable, scoreboard upgrades, ribbon boards, and control room.
$13.9 million for new club spaces on Levels 1 and 2, club space improvements on Levels 4 and 5.
$13.5 million: Outside building shell, outdoor media mesh and signage.
$6.4 million: Building operations and back of house, including stage relocation and energy conservation measures.
$933,000: Basketball locker rooms and facilities.

I was definitely hoping for some more on exterior and street connecting work; it looks like that's limited to some portion of the $27.2 and the $13.5. Alas.

Given that the arena is used almost year-round now for basketball I wonder if the Lynx might need a temporary home for a bit while the bowl is redone?

I'd assume so. Bet they'll go to Williams.

I thought there was about a 2 month window between the Wolves and the Lynx. If the rows come pre-assembled would it really take more than that amount of time to get it installed? If each seat needs to be installed on its own I could see where it might take a little longer, but two months is a long time. The Lynx only use the lower bowl too, so you could have the lower bowl ready in that time frame and continue to work on the upper bowl during the season.

My understanding was that the renovations were more involved than just replacing seats, but I could very well be wrong.

this is all going to be done in phases so the teams schedules won't be disrupted.

"Announced last month, the deal involves the city issuing a $98 million general obligation bond, about half of which it would pay back with public dollars. The Timberwolves, which are extending their lease at the arena, would kick in another $43 million. The city is also on the hook for $50 million in ongoing capital improvements."

So is this going to be closer to the original $150 million? Or was this whole paragraph just written strange? I also was happy to read this. "The renovation will also add a new shell on the building (see rendering) and upgrade technology."


http://www.startribune.com/local/231464041.html

I agree that's really poorly written, but I assume what they're saying is that the city would bond for all $98 million, but the team and AEG would be responsible for covering half of the bonds.

Renovation package was approved by the council this morning.

I agree that's really poorly written, but I assume what they're saying is that the city would bond for all $98 million, but the team and AEG would be responsible for covering half of the bonds.

Thanks for helping to clarify. I would bet by the all star game the exterior work will be started.

I thought the breakdown was this:

$98M now for renovation, split 50-50 between the City and the team.
$50M spread out over many years through a capital improvement fund (funded by City taxes).

I could be wrong, but I thought this was the plan.

I thought the breakdown was this:

$98M now for renovation, split 50-50 between the City and the team.
$50M spread out over many years through a capital improvement fund (funded by City taxes).

I could be wrong, but I thought this was the plan.

That is the way I read it as well. It will be used to spend a few million here and there to make small upgrades throughout the life of the lease.

I don't think the two explanations are mutually exclusive. It doesn't make sense to bond now for improvements that you're not going to make for another 10 years, so if the bonding is for $98 million and is happening now, it seems reasonable to assume that this covers both the city and private contributions towards the immediate work, and that the team will be responsible for paying back a portion of the bonds. The future maintenance costs will likely be paid with later contributions.

Today's MinnPost article clarifies the financing a bit.

The immediate renovations will begin by late spring, with Minneapolis contributing $48.5 million. The Timberwolves will contribute $43 million, and AEG will contribute $5.7 million.

The city will sell $98 million in general obligation bonds and be reimbursed by the Timberwolves and AEG.

The remaining Minneapolis portion would come from the same tax pool that will be used to finance the Vikings stadium. That revenue comes from a citywide sales tax, a hotel tax and downtown tax on liquor and restaurant tabs.

I think its good that we have retained the NBA and WNBA for the medium term future. Did you know that the WNBA draws better television ratings than the MLS on ESPN?

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Jour ... mbers.aspx