On Baseball's opening day in 2008, I bitched about how stupid it was for the city to build a new stadium for the Minnesota Twins without a retractable dome. It was snowing that day. Lots. 6-8" of snow. This is not unexpected on opening day, in this part of the country.
We were told not to worry; the real problem with snow and bad weather was at the beginning at the season, not the end. As anyone who watched the national weather reports today, or who has a friend in Minnesota knows, it is snowing here. Again. It is early in the season for us to have snow, but it is not completely unexpected. Had this been 2010, and if the Twins had a closer, we would be facing a possible snow-out in upcoming playoff games.
There is really nothing new to bitch about now. The stadium is scheduled to open next Spring, and if we keep our existing team, there is a distinct possibility we will have to deal with snow in a playoff game next year. And unlike snow-outs at the beginning of the season, when you have to make up games at the end of the season, the longer it takes to play, the colder and more unpleasant it gets.
When the Milwaukee Brewers needed a new stadium, they also hit up the State; five counties had to increase their sales tax by 0.1% to pay for the $400 million in construction costs. The stadium was finished in 2001. It has a retractable dome. The stadium for the Twins costs more; its projected cost is $522 million ($390 for the stadium, the rest on infrastructure improvements), also paid for by a sales tax increase. It costs more and it does not have a retractable dome.
I never would have thought folks in Wisconsin were smarter than us (or that we were stupider than them), but apparently I was wrong. Very wrong. They got a stadium that costs 20% less, plus a roof for free. Plus it holds more people.
My apologies to everyone in the Badger State for any disparaging comments I have every made to you, or your state.
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