MORE ABOUT $10,000 EVENT TENTS IN MINNEAPOLIS PARKS.
THE FOLLOWING ITEM APPEARED ON THE FOXNEWS WEBSITE:
EXPECTING 'BIG TENT' REPUBLICANS, MINNEAPOLIS SEES DOLLAR SIGNS by FoxNews.com Tuesday, July 8, 2008
When Republicans said they were a “big tent” party, city officials in Minneapolis apparently took them literally.
With the Republican convention set just across the river in St. Paul for the first week in September, Minneapolis parks officials have hiked their rental prices for large hospitality-style tents from a bargain-basement $50 to a sticker-shocking $10,000 — a 20,000 percent increase, MyFoxTwinCities.com reports.
In one city meeting, Minneapolis Parks Superintendent Jon Gurban jokingly referred to the price hikes as a “gold mine” timed to coincide with the presidential nominating event. The board faces a $1 million deficit.
“We always like taking some fun pokes at the Republicans,” Gurban told MyFoxTwinCities.
Gurban later explained that the city undertook a survey of park fees compared to what other cities were charging, “and we found out that we were grossly underpricing the park system.”
“It really is kind of a square-footage fee as much as anything,” Gurban said, noting that the fees also would affect other events that use the city’s large tents, like annual triathalons and hockey tournaments.
Gurban, however, said he had not yet heard from the Republican Host Committee, which is planning the convention events, on whether it plans on using any park space in his city.