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Hiram Foster

Crystal, MN
Commenter for
5 years 30 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 10/26/09 at 10:41 am in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

I think there is some reason to think that student enrollment at the University of Phoenix has increased in the last two years, but I don't see any evidence that it has doubled, and I doubt that holding the Super Bowl there has had much impact on enrollment. Linking the University of Phoenix with a football stadium sends a message that a college is local. And the Apollo Group is a company I would mostly stay away from.

"You tell me if naming-right is worth it... What's $8 million per...

Posted on 10/26/09 at 08:12 am in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

I have always thought naming rights were a vanity purchase for companies, a sign that companies have lost touch with their business. A lot of companies who have purchased naming rights to sports facilities have gone broke. Enron Field in Houston comes immediately to mind but there are many others. Perhaps sports facilities named after bankrupt companies should be required to retain their names as a reminder to all of us of the dangers of corporate hubris.

That said, for companies...

Posted on 10/25/09 at 07:45 pm in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

what should businesses get credit for?

Stuff they do. I give them credit for subsidizing things I enjoy. My enjoyment of them isn't lessened by the fact that they might get some benefit from subsidizing stuff I like.

". they will also benefit from sponsoring naming-rights.... in-house advertising.... club seats... development rights... and on and on and on."

All stuff they will pay for, and therefore reduce the cost of professional sports to me.

If TCF or Target...

Posted on 10/25/09 at 01:52 pm in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

"I believe all the elements of a pro sports venture should be based on benefit."

Well, I can't dispute that. I also tend to view things that benefit us favorably.

"If you are a Vikings season ticket holder, would you be willing to pay an average $2000 (say the range is $500 to $5000) for seat licenses?"

Me personally? No. But I am not a Vikings season ticket holder at all.

"The Packers raised $108 million from 54,000 bowl bench seats... $2000 per seat... to help...

Posted on 10/25/09 at 06:36 am in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

"It always comes back to the idea that public financing of financing professional sports is somehow a "good deal" for the taxpayers."

I would extend that to all Minnesotans not just taxpayers. And I would not narrowly define "good deal" in purely economic terms.

In purely economic returns, sports are not a good investment. But how many decisions in our live do we make on purely economic terms? I follow football not because I make money from it, but because I enjoy watching the...

Posted on 10/24/09 at 07:23 am in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

"This business with the books reminds of another outrage associated with these stadiums. Essentially these stadiums are financial bailouts for teams who claim they need a new stadium to make more money."

There is nothing of the bailout where the Vikings are concerned. An NFL football franchise is the closest thing there is to a license to print money. For the owners, the only issue is just how fantastically lucrative do they want their businesses to be. But I am not an NFL owner, and...

Posted on 10/20/09 at 10:50 am in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

"Player income tax (which are paid with NFL TV & sponsorship revenues that follow the teams wherever they go) and taxes paid by out-of-state stadium patrons come to mind."

A lot of these things tend to be a wash. While visiting player pay income taxes here, home team players get deductions for the income taxes they pay elsewhere, so that pretty much evens out. And not many players will live in Minnesota permanently which means they will take the money they earned here out of the...

Posted on 10/19/09 at 02:49 pm in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

While it is possible the Vikings could move to Los Angeles, the risk for them is that there are several other franchises who are also threatening to go to LA. If one of them gets in ahead of the Vikings, then that threat becomes significantly emptier because other than LA, there aren't that many places the Vikings can move where they will be better off than they are.

Posted on 10/19/09 at 11:37 am in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

"9. This morning, I directed task force counsel to look into obtaining from Mr. Wilf and his partners a pledge that he will have no conversations or negotiations with any prospective buyers from outside Minnesota for a period of two years."

This is unenforceable and somewhat unrealistic. There are other deals out there. We know it. Zygi knows it. No one has to communicate directly with Zygi or his partners for the outlines of such deals to become known to Zygi, and for that matter, us...

Posted on 10/19/09 at 11:40 am in response to The first meeting of Stadium Task Force No. 1,347: Seriously ... some ways to solve the Vikings dilemma

Last comment (for a while).

"7. The Vikings must open their books to the public, and those finances must be examined by auditors appointed by the Legislature. If there is public funding or financing to be had here, we need to understand the differences among the Vikings and other NFL teams, particularly those in the NFC Central division."

Why? If the Vikings move, it will be because they have a better offer, and I am pretty sure that offer will not come from any of the existing...