Park Watch Observation: It is interesting to note that in less than 24 hours, the StarTribune’s pro-Yard editorial drew over a dozen comments critical of the editorial.
COMMENTS POSTED ON THE STRIB’S WEBSITE RE STRIB’S PRO-YARD EDITORIAL
svenny1 Aug. 18, 14
11:26 AM Boss-Hog Ziggy for mayor! He already has gotten virtually everything he wants in Minneapolis, so why not put him in charge so he can make it legal.
rlwr51 Aug. 18, 14
8:59 AM What “confusion” ? The law is quite clear.
msimsi Aug. 18, 14
8:23 AM The swipe at the park board, essentially saying they couldn’t handle a downtown green space, is ludicrous. Comparing Millennium Park to this vacant lot for the Vikings to erect tents is a stretch. The recommendation that the city charge ahead before coming up with a way to pay for this is insulting. Not mentioning that this redevelopment benefited the StarTribune is a laugh or a cry, take your choice.
billybilly Aug. 18, 14
6:34 AM rshackleford and I are polar opposites on every issue on these forums, save one. He is conservative and I am very liberal. The taxpayer funded stadium is the biggest ripoff ever foisted on the State and especially the fine City of Minneapolis, and when two people that divergent in their views agree then it’s time to realize the folly that BOTH parties have burdened us with. I am not going to vote for Dayton again and I hope that conservatives do the same for their party members that sold them out.
rshackleford Aug. 18, 14
3:06 AM (article quote): “Was it a not-so-veiled threat that if the Park Board can’t own and manage the Yard under terms that it likes, then no one else can?” —– The use of the word “veiled” makes that funny. To answer that very easy question: Yep, if the MPRB cannot legally accept the terms for what amounts to a fake public park and have been dictated to the MPRB by private interests (cough…the NFL…cough), there will be no fake public park because it cannot therefore conform to the MPRB’s long-standing definition of a true public park space. That logic is not difficult to comprehend. Stop trying to make the MPRB and the park system look bad because the effort is just plain futile. The MPRB has overseen a park system that has won many awards. Comparatively, what exactly has the New Jersey owned Minnesota Vikings football team brought home in triumph? Trophies won wouldn’t make a difference here anyway. This “private NFL party/marketing space project” appears to have met its “legal end.”
reid Aug. 18, 14
8:07 AM @rshackleford Spectacular. Thanks for this summary.
For the citizens, rich and poor, that will be in the area all year long, to be deprived of public control so for a few hours every year the rich owners and privileged guests can walk through what would really be a privately controlled buffer zone to their box seats, is the ultimate insult.
turgid Aug. 17, 14
11:10 PM Ceding control of all those dates to the Stadium authority and MSFA was a terrible abdication of responsibility to the citizens – really a dereliction of duty – and Barb Johnson should be shown the door in the next election for it. That said, it is encouraging it see that at least some people in the city are pursuing a plan that could yet create something of value for the community – Minneapolis deserves a decent park for the 650 Million in taxes we will be paying for the stadium over the next 30 years. I hope the city attorneys get on top of this and make sure that there are strict limits as to what the Vikings are allowed to do on”their days”. (Gag)
elmore1 Aug. 17, 14
8:57 PM Remember Dayton was the guy who suppressed our vote on “The People’s Stadium”. It continues to be a mess.
jarlmn Aug. 17, 14
8:02 PM So basically, how ever it eventually comes down, the taxpayers will be on the hook for this boondoggle, then the same taxpayers will be excluded from it whenever Wilf says so. “The People’s Stadium” nonsense, rises again. Our Democrat city and state leadership always drones on about the evils of “greedy corporations” and about “fairness” and “equality” and such …. yet seems to be led by the nose by greedy-corporate Wilf. You voted for this, folks!
rlwr51 Aug. 18, 14
8:58 AM @jarlmn – Not to mention that 2 square blocks of prime downtown land are being taken of the rolls of land that collects taxes making it unavailable to business use that would employ many people. Downtown is where businesses belong.
rogerb Aug. 18, 14
10:18 AM @rlwr51 @jarlmn Yes because there have been business clamoring to occupy the surface lots that currently grace the area.
rlwr51 Aug. 18, 14
3:56 PM @rogerb @rlwr51 @jarlmn – Surface lots owned by the Star Tribune that they would not sell and allow to be developed.
rlwr51 Aug. 17, 14
7:42 PM Did someone really think that they would be able to bully the Park Board into maintaining a property for Wilf?
honoredbygod Aug. 17, 14
7:34 PM this is ridiculous. Wilf wins again.
fooledmeonce Aug. 17, 14
6:57 PM you citizens should hope the city manages this better than they have Block E
billybilly Aug. 17, 14
6:56 PM This will, in NO WAY, ever be a public park. This underhanded and backdoor deal only helps one person, Wilf. As I have stated before, I was a huge supporter of Rybak and Dayton in the past but am ashamed of them now. I do hope the courts rule that the MPRB has control of the area, and puts a halt to this ripoff. Just sickening!
rlwr51 Aug. 17, 14
6:11 PM This is exactly the situation our founders were protecting us from when they set up our city charter. I thank them and am totally grateful for their foresight and their caring about the future of this city.
