New Minnesota Stadium

Facts

Jobs

  • According to Mortenson Construction, a new stadium will support 13,000 jobs, including 7,500 full and part-time construction jobs with nearly $300 million in wages.
  • The construction industry is currently experiencing nearly 20% unemployment in Minnesota.
  • 95% of the materials and labor value (nearly $600 million) is expected to go back to Minnesotans.
  • Upon completion, a new stadium and the Vikings will employ approximately 3,400 full and part-time jobs. Vikings game days currently employ 2,800 people.

Economic Impact/Return on Investment

  • The Vikings pay $20 million annually in State and local taxes. In 2001, the team paid $11 million per year.
  • Visiting teams pay approximately $1 million per year in taxes to the State of Minnesota.
  • A report by Convention, Sports & Leisure said a new stadium and the retention of the Vikings will generate $26 million annually in tax revenue.
  • 40% of Vikings Season Ticket Owners live outside the 7-county metro area and 22% of STOs live outside the State of Minnesota.
  • A study by the University of Minnesota on the Vikings-Cowboys playoff game in January 2010 found that non-metro game attendees spend nearly $6 million in restaurants, hotels, retail stores and on transportation in the Twin Cities per Vikings game.
  • The Metrodome was built for $55 million, including $33 million in public dollars. The State of Minnesota contributed none of this money but has received over $320 million in tax revenue since the facility opened.

Quality of Life

  • One out of every two Minnesotans follows the Vikings each Sunday either on TV, radio or in person at the stadium.
  • The Vikings averaged a 68-69 TV share in each of the past two seasons, meaning 68-69% of TVs that are turned on during Vikings football are tuned into the game.
  • A new stadium would be publicly owned, operated by the team and available for national and community events throughout the year. The Vikings would pay 90%, or nearly $20 million annually, of the operating expenses and municipal services.
  • Over the last several years, the Vikings have donated over $500,000 annually to charitable organizations, as well as thousands of autographed items. In 2010, the team donated over 3,000 items in the five-state area.
  • In the summer of 2011, the Vikings helped serve 1,000,000 meals to underserved children in the Twin Cities.
  • For the last four years, every player on the 53-man roster and the eight practice squad players participated in the Vikings community outreach program.

Stadium History/Challenges

  • The original funding source of the Metrodome was a 2%, 7-county liquor tax that converted to a 3%, Minneapolis-only liquor and lodging tax when the site was selected.
  • The Metrodome is the 2nd-oldest facility in the NFL.
  • The Metrodome has the smallest site footprint in the NFL at 900,000 square feet, compared to the NFL average of 1.6 million square feet.
  • The Vikings rank at the bottom of the NFL in revenues because of the Metrodome.
  • Because of the revenue-challenged Metrodome, the Vikings receive annual subsidies of $15-20 million from other NFL teams in order to compete, including smaller markets like Green Bay and Kansas City.
  • The Vikings NFC North opponents – Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay – all generate approximately $30 million more annually than the Vikings because of their stadiums

Stadium Financing

  • With the Arden Hills plan, the Vikings are committing over $400 million, the third-largest private contribution in NFL stadium history.
  • The team believes in user-based funding, meaning those who use or benefit from a new stadium contribute to its cost.
  • A new stadium will not take money from the State’s General Fund.
  • The average public-private partnership with new facilities around the country is 1/3 private and 2/3 public.
  • 28 of 32 NFL cities have built new stadiums or significantly renovated their existing facilities since 1992.
  • Every recent NFL stadium project has included some public funding for surrounding infrastructure or the stadium itself.
  • The Twins ballpark legislation required the team to pay 30% of the total construction costs while Hennepin County covered the remaining 70%. The Vikings have agreed to cover nearly 40% of the stadium costs in Arden Hills.
  • Target Center, the Xcel Energy Center, Mall of America and the Guthrie Theater all included some public funding.
  • State lottery proceeds were used in Baltimore and Seattle to help pay for new football and baseball stadiums.
  • The cost of a new facility has nearly tripled since 2001. Mortenson Construction estimates an additional year of delay could add up to $50 million to the total costs.
  • A fixed roof adds approximately $200 million to the total stadium costs.
  • Teams like the Cowboys and Giants can raise more private capital for a new stadium because they have a market large enough to change personal seat licenses, something this market is unlikely to accept at a high level.