According to this article over at the Star Tribune, Burnsville is being courted by developers interested in bringing Northern League, an independent baseball league, to a location at I-35W and MN-13. Now, I’m all for baseball and even independent baseball games get me in attendance but do we really need yet another team in the area? It’s interesting to note that the St Paul Saints left the Northern League in 2005 after they moved over to the American Association.
They are asking for “zero government money” well, except for public improvements to an area that was previously a dump site. I think that’s still asking for money but well, whatever. I guess it would be better to look at this option for revitalizing some of that nasty ass land down there rather than looking for it to be 100% funded at the city/state level. I am just not sure I would be a part of the group looking to “spread picnic blankets on the grass and root for the hometeam”, I’d probably be more in the sit in the bleachers, drink cheap beer, and get rowdy with my shirt off crowd! I’m sure Burnsville’s PD is already drooling over the thought of all those DWI arrests because there’s no viable public transportation in the South Metro after rush hour even though there’s a major transit station pretty close by.
My favorite quote from the article comes from City Council Member Dan Gustafson:
“Burnsville is a good suburban community, and we’re fortunate enough to have a downtown, and we’re fortunate enough to have some of the amenities that the core cities have as well,” he said. “But we still get to go home to our suburban neighborhoods. Not everybody gets to do that.”
I’m not quite sure what “downtown” they speak of because, well, there are many in Burnsville, most notably the area surrounding Burnsville Center but the audacious City Council would never admit to that with their awesome Heart of the City project about to have their names grace a plaque on the structure that will ultimately prove to be as useful as the Duluth Aquarium. Perhaps they are talking about the downtown that they are trying to clean up because it’s riddled with drug use and prostitution (I have examples in the Dakota County Criminal Complaints archive but I don’t have the time to go through them with examples, today) — yet, Eagan seems to be doing a better job?
What do you think about a stadium for another independent league in Burnsville?
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June 10th, 2008 at 11:14 am
I think it’s a bad idea, but I hope it gets the City of St Paul & the Saints thinking about renovating Midway Stadium or building a newer, better ballpark.
The MSP Business Journal has more details on the proposal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2008/06/09/daily9.html
June 10th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Tom, thanks for the link.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Sounds like a better idea than Burnsville’s pie-in-the-sky medical technology campus. At least in the case of the stadium developers, they are putting their own money on the line which suggests to me they have a good idea of the feasibility of the project.
June 10th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
It’s about as likely as that longshot nonsense about a Vikes stadium in SHakopee. Seriously, trash decomposes from what I’ve learned and I can just imagine the lumps and pits in the outfield as granny’s banana peels from 1964 start to rot away. Oooh, ooh that smell!
June 10th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I actually think it is a pretty good idea. These guys are willing to invest their own cash to build the stadium, the public funds would be infrastructure related which more than likely would be needed no matter what was built there. I really think it’s a long shot though, and whether the twin cities can support another baseball team is questionable and with the Twins opening an open air stadium finally, that’s going to steal some of the cache the Saints currently enjoy. I think the Saints games are more fun than the Twins, it’s a ton cheaper, the kids can run around and do whatever, the players are approachable. I’d like to see it happen, it’s another cheap option for a fun family night out and it’s closer than both the Saints and Twins.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Another, even fluffier, article on the Star Tribune here. My favorite quote from that one?
and, because as everyone knows, building a minor league baseball park in the suburbs is just as important as 35W:
June 11th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Another article on the Pioneer Press here. There has also been mention here (Thisweek Live) and here (Thisweek Live’s Hometown Source Blogs).
July 13th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Cripes.
Would you rather the city have left Nicollet Avenue like it was, with a crummy-ass gas station and such? Would it have been better to turn down millions in grants to build a well-used park and a well-used parking ramp? Do you know that a large citizen committee studied the area for years and endorsed what is happening there? Do those citizens — people who get involved, don’t just bitch — mean nothing? Or is your casual criticism more valuable and more valid?
If the Heart of the City blows from a functional downtown point of view, OK, but at least it adds to the tax base. Look it up. That’s BAD for the residents? Even though much of the increased tax base is deferred for many years, it will come on line. And the new development is already paying more taxes than what was there previously.
Again: This is BAD for taxpayers? Explain, please.
Are you SURE the ballpark site is on an old dump? Might be, since that land was pretty unregulated back in the day. But you’re not referring to the old McGowan (amphitheater) site, are you? Make certain.
As for zero government money, that whole area has been designated a tax-increment district by the Minnesota Legislature. I assume you realize that doesn’t mean a sudden increase in taxes to pay for public improvements.
The “downtown” that is “riddled” with drugs and prostution amounts to a few hotels at freeway interchanges — hardly a fair characterization of “downtown,” whether it be the Heart of the City or the Burnsville Center area.
That arts center, that’s a judgement call; $20 million (the city claims no increase in taxes, a reasonable claim, because tax-increment districts along 42 are expiring, bringing full taxation back on line).
Can’t blame people for opposing the arts center — those tax dollars could go into reserve, or be used for something else — but there will be no increase in property taxes BECAUSE of the arts center.
Say, that photo of the Heart of the ‘City “sculpture” was actually a picture of the stage bandshell. There is a sculpture down there, but that’s not it. Nice photo, though.
How much fact-checking do you do?
July 13th, 2008 at 7:13 am
I took the photo a long time ago (2004 IIRC) and I’m not sure why I referred to it as a sculpture but I believe it was before the park was in a usable state and I wasn’t quite sure what the individual parts of green space would be used for. I haven’t been back to the park since and rarely even pass by it. I’ll be sure to change the caption, thanks for the update.
As for the rest of your post, be glad you have an outlet for your comments being that the Burnsville City Council doesn’t much appreciate public commentary on their business and certainly doesn’t take into account the opinions of those that don’t agree with their intended courses of action.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I am all for the new baseball team/stadium. Its private money that will certainly help the city. If it does not work out, its not like the taxpayers are stuck footing the bill for the next decade.
I certainly see the average person using it more than the PAC. On that subject the park in front of the PAC with the water features is a great place to hang out, and is heavily used on a daily basis. Its a cool place, although for my tax money, I would rather have seen the part quadruped in size and forget about the PAC, build a nice public swimming pool, put up some sound barriers along 35W to improve the liveablity of some of our neighborhoods, etc, etc.
Maybe next time?
July 29th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
#8 says no increase in property taxes. Sounds like a Kool-Aid drinker!
If you live in Burnsville you need to ask how much less your property taxes would be if all the public dollars that are going to debt service for the PAC and its parking and projected operating losses were used for property tax refief.
You need to sort out the political spin from reality and remember we will be paying for this turkey for the next twenty years!
I suggest you check into http://www.PositiveChangeForBurnsville.com for a dose of reality once in a while.
July 29th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Chad,
I believe that “sheesh” (#8) is a regular contributor to Thisweeklive and may have been their editor in the past (currently?) So while they wouldn’t post their real name, I did the “fact checking” that they have a paid staff to do on the troll that posted an anonymous comment instead of using their real name.
Good luck w/the race. I hope that someone with a brain wins out in Burnsville. Perhaps, just perhaps, someone will get a clue in the rest of the South Metro too.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I think it would be pretty cool to have a ballpark in Burnsville. Unlike the PAC, it’s something that I would attend time and time again.