Venue News & Notes: A Stadium Stimulus Plan

The Minnesota Vikings have an idea for stimulating the economy: a new football stadium. The team says it would create more than 5,500 jobs and provide $500 million or more in business in the state, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty opposes state money for the Vikings, so the team will have to create a strong game plan to push the stadium through.

…The Minnesota Vikings have been pushing for a new stadium for more than a decade, and their latest plan seeks more than $635 million in public money for a downtown stadium with an overall price tag of almost $1 billion. The team says it would create more than 5,500 jobs and provide $500 million or more to contractors in the state…

…The hopes that the Beijing Olympic Baseball Stadium could potentially spark a new generation of baseball enthusiasts in China were dashed this week when officials decided to level the building and replace it with a shopping mall. The Wukesong Sports Centre, with a seating capacity of 15,000, is the first venue to be destroyed after the games. Although it was declared a temporary venue before the games, this decision still has upset some fans…

…China is offering to help build a national sports stadium in the Bahamas. According to the Bahamas’ foreign affairs minister, construction will start early next year in the capital of Nassau. Brent Symonette says China will send the Bahamas a $7.3 million grant as well as Chinese construction workers to build the stadium…

…Miami-Dade voters could get a chance to weigh in on a planned Marlins stadium if local governments and the team don’t ink final deals before summer. A state senate bill, if passed, would ban government spending on professional sports teams without a public vote, effective July 1. Legally binding obligations that governments agree to before that date would be home free…

…A greyhound-racing track and a former landfill are among seven suggested sites for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark. Each possible location is on the St. Petersburg side of the Tampa Bay. The current Tropicana Field area made the list, as did Progress Energy Park, a downtown spring-training stadium the team had hoped to develop into a major-league stadium…

…The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in Arizona is involved in preliminary talks that could bring a baseball stadium and training facility to the area near Scottsdale. The site south of Arizona 87, the Beeline Highway, would be spring-training headquarters for two Cactus League teams, says Clinton Pattea, president of the Fort McDowell community. He estimates the cost at $80 million…

…United Sports Equities LLC proposed bringing United League Baseball to Brownsville, TX, on city-owned land along Alton Gloor Blvd., but it took a detour to bankruptcy court. And, one of its minor league teams, the San Angelo Colts Baseball Club, also filed for bankruptcy soon afterwards. The bankruptcy filings cast doubt on the future of a ULB stadium in Brownsville.