There's been an awful lot of conjecture around prospects for a Minnesota soccer stadium of Major League Soccer caliber. Such a stadium would have to have a grass field (we think). And it would have to hold at least 18,000 seats (we guess). And it would land in the urban core, like Minneapolis probably. Or could that be St. Paul?
Ah, who are we kidding? Other than some initial promises a few months ago that team owners would find private money to build a stadium themselves, Minnesota United owners have been mum on details, especially as it concerns St. Paul. Nope, they're not talking to the press.
And we all know that in complicated land purchases and public financing deals, details change with time, especially as land values rise and there are two different sites in question. (Would the Minnesota Vikings stadium have a retractable roof or not? Would it go to Minneapolis or Arden Hills? Why not Los Angeles? Yadda to the yadda...?)
If they build a professional soccer stadium in St. Paul's Midway, will the city find money to complete Ayd Mill Road?
And by all appearances, there are two different sites in question. Would the dimensions of a Major League Soccer stadium be different in St. Paul's Midway than, say, in Minneapolis' North Loop? How many seats will this stadium have, and who will use it? Presumably Minnesota United, but anyone else? Concerts? Youth leagues? Boy Scouts? Who knows?
It's not just the Scoop asking the really basic and universal, er, tough questions here. The cut-ups at Northern Pitch have created this parody article depicting a stadium groundbreaking with Minnesota United still quiet on the details, even to the guys manning the construction cranes:
“This small hole in the ground, as well as the construction cranes that are poised at the edge of this parking lot, are a great sign for the soccer community in Minnesota,” said (team owner Bill) McGuire. “We look forward to potentially working with the City of St. Paul to finalize the details of this issue.”
Mortenson Construction foreman Randy Peterson expressed frustration with the project. “These cranes aren’t actually here to do anything,” he said. “The team hired us without a bid to build their stadium, more than a year ago, and we’ve been bothering them for the plans since. But all they’ll tell us is that they are ‘committed to working together’ to build a stadium. I’m sorry, but I can’t construct a stadium without blueprints or even a basic architectural design.”
Peterson grew agitated. “What do you want me to build?” he shouted, in the direction of McGuire and team president Nick Rogers. “How many seats? JUST TELL ME SOMETHING.”
No matter what city this MLS stadium lands in, everyone expects that United will ask for the stadium land to be taken off the tax rolls, and the St. Paul mayor and city council have already said they're open to that. But in addition to tax-free property, team owners will probably need some sort of public assistance with infrastructure -- think streets, sidewalks, sewers, lighting, maybe even parking.
Infrastructure matters. This is what happens when you don't let the CIB Committee do its job . (This picture was taken in Minneapolis...)
In St. Paul, major traffic corridors like Interstate 94, Snelling/State Highway 51, University Avenue and even Ayd Mill Road might need a shot in the arm to get ready for 20,000 spectators. That's a lot of potential roadwork, which someone has to pay for.
As the St. Paul Saints prepared to move into CHS Field, no one at the city or team level was exactly eager to announce that in addition to a $63 million ballpark, some neighboring streets would need a nearly $4 million upgrade. Those costs later doubled. City engineers said at the time that the Prince Street area was overdue for improvements regardless of whether CHS Field got built, and they were probably right.
Near Snelling and University avenues, the same could be said of Ayd Mill Road -- it's overdue for some answers to frequently-asked questions about its fate. A professional sports stadium would certainly jump start work on surrounding road projects, or at least jump start those conversations.
Discussion about potential alternate uses for the Minneapolis Metrodome inspired this artist's rendering of "just some of the summer images in the (Metrodome) aquarium."
There are other types of improvements that could or should go along with professional stadiums, as well. Well before CHS Field debuted, the St. Paul Union Depot spruced up its parking areas, which can handle hundreds of cars. The Green Line rolled into Lowertown. The city added new electronic meters and widened a Lowertown sidewalk for patio seating.
Outside of Target Field, the Minneapolis home of the Minnesota Twins, team owners (that would be the Pohlad family) have reportedly poured millions of dollars into Hennepin County's and Metro Transit's Target Station improvements, including a picnic area that is ready, willing and able to handle outdoor movies. There's a big mix of public and private money involved in getting that kind of recreational and transit infrastructure stadium-ready, and it's not even a formal part of the stadium.
None of this pedantic cauterwaling is to suggest that St. Paul should not partner with Minnesota United on a soccer stadium. Hey, professional sports are cool. But there are certainly a few details that, in the absence of public comment from team owners, have been left to the imagination. And as time goes on, the imagination runs wild.
The post Hey Minnesota United fans, your team is too quiet. And remember when infrastructure costs around CHS Field DOUBLED? appeared first on City Hall Scoop.