I have a message for Georgians who are on the fence about a new stadium: It’s worth every penny. Economists will tell you stadiums never make sense and there’s no return on investment. Their thinking is that a stadium is a “community” asset and community value isn’t measured in money. If it were, every museum, theater, park and library would board up its windows.
When I think of Atlanta, I think about how my Minnesota Twins won the World Series against the talented, deep-pitching roster of the Braves. Seven years later the Falcons beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship game. The point: People outside our communities immediately associate our state with sports and facilities. (Heard of the Mall of America?) Stadiums are more than playgrounds for the rich. Think about it: Who in their right mind would build a $1 billion facility to use 10 to 12 days a year? That is why only one owner in NFL history has financed a stadium on his own. The stadium is a community asset the other 353 days a year. It affords the opportunity to host other events like a Super Bowl, the Olympics or the Final Four, which in 2013 will bring attention and dollars to Georgia.
When the Metrodome was 20 years old, the Vikings started a stadium drive in hopes they could get a facility to keep them economically competitive with the rest of the league and keep yet another team from leaving for Los Angeles. Ten years, four coaches, three owners and a heartbreaking NFC Championship loss later, the Vikings are about to secure a new home for the next 30 years.
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is contributing 51 percent of the costs. The state is going to kick in $392 million.
Minnesota won’t host another Super Bowl, Final Four or any other national event without a new stadium. You saw the roof collapse on the Metrodome a year ago. Would you step foot in the building? I sell professional services for one of the largest IT consulting firms in the world. When I speak to people outside Minnesota, they think of three things: The Mall of America, cold weather and the Vikings. Without the Vikings, we are just a cold state with a big mall. Never mind that Minnesota is home to more Fortune 500 companies per capita than any other state.
Nowhere in our Constitution is it written that we are entitled to an NFL team. I won’t try to justify the economics of the NFL. They are predatory and absurd. It’s a limited market and we have to pay for a team if we want one. But what you can do is strike a balance: a public-private partnership in which Atlanta retains its status as one of the top regions in the U.S. while securing its NFL franchise for another generation.
Cory Merrifield is founder of SavetheVikes.org., a grassroots, nonpartisan group dedicated to securing the Vikings a home in Minnesota.
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