Just What Does Minneapolis Get From A Stadium?

Judging by the urgency with which Mayor RT Rybak and Governor Mark Dayton have pushed the idea of public funding for a new Vikings stadium, you might be forgiven if you thought the fate of the Minneapolis economy rests on keeping the sports team in the city.

Well, does it? It turns out, that's a rather difficult question to answer.

According to Rybak's office, only one recent study (attached to this article) measures the team's economic impact. Looking at a single playoff game, from Jan. 17, 2010, the University of Minnesota study concluded that the 25,160 non-metro residents who swung into town for the game spent about $230 each while here—or $5.8 million overall. This spending ultimately produced a $9.1 million boost to the city's economy.

Multiply that by the team's eight regular-season games, and you come up with only around $72.8 million in new economic activity per season. By comparison, the metro area economy produced about $192 billion in goods and services in 2010, according to Greater MSP, a local economic development group.

Those numbers could be a bit suspect, though: The study based its conclusions on the actions of 161 out-of-town fans who responded to a survey emailed to all fans who bought tickets through Ticketmaster. Also, regular-season games certainly draw fewer people, and dollars, than the playoff game that anchored this study. 

A look at the tax picture is equally foggy—another study (also attached) concluded that the city only drew $14 million in direct taxes from the Metrodome between its 1982 construction and 2009, in exchange for its $27 million investment in the building's construction.

So, is a new stadium a waste for the public, as and suggest? While she said she opposes public financing for sports facilities, Southwest's Councilmember Meg Tuthill—a former party supply store owner—pointed out that sports events do get locals spending, too. 

"There is money to be made off the dome. Even on Christmas, it’s rented," she said. "When they had the NCAA finals here (in 2001), we could have closed our store for the quarter on the money we made."