[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday May 10, 2005 at 12:30am]
The Stadium Drumbeat Continues
The next day after Minneapolis Star Tribune claims it is covering the Twins stadium proposal story "right down the middle" we are treated to yet another 95-5 weighted article.
Actually, it's a puff piece on Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat, the "tenacious" negotiator that got everything together despite all odds. There are a couple of problems here.
1. This is premature. The deal isn't done yet. Not until the Legislature OK's it, the Hennepin County Board accepts it, and the Twins write the check for the first $40 million - cash.
2. This was on the front page of the A section. This is exactly the kind of story that should be in the B (Metro) section. It is of very little interest outside Hennepin County, let alone the Twin Cities area.
I for one think Mr. Opat is getting a bit too much credit here. If there's anything innovative here, it's the splendid timing designed to avoid the referendum process that would otherwise sink it. But otherwise the deal's a yawner, and the site is second-rate, right next to a garbage burner. Not much has to go wrong for it to join the list of boondoggles along with the Minnesota Zoo, Interstate 394, the Duluth Aquarium, Ethanol, and the Hiawatha Light Rail Line.
Actually, it's a puff piece on Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat, the "tenacious" negotiator that got everything together despite all odds. There are a couple of problems here.
1. This is premature. The deal isn't done yet. Not until the Legislature OK's it, the Hennepin County Board accepts it, and the Twins write the check for the first $40 million - cash.
2. This was on the front page of the A section. This is exactly the kind of story that should be in the B (Metro) section. It is of very little interest outside Hennepin County, let alone the Twin Cities area.
I for one think Mr. Opat is getting a bit too much credit here. If there's anything innovative here, it's the splendid timing designed to avoid the referendum process that would otherwise sink it. But otherwise the deal's a yawner, and the site is second-rate, right next to a garbage burner. Not much has to go wrong for it to join the list of boondoggles along with the Minnesota Zoo, Interstate 394, the Duluth Aquarium, Ethanol, and the Hiawatha Light Rail Line.