John LaPlante at Policy Guy has some thoughts about the requests for public funds for new stadiums for the Minnesota Twins, Vikings, and the Gophers:
The proposals are for the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Minnesota Twins. Then again, having three proposals on the table is a good thing if it means that none get enacted. Said one political veteran: "One's difficult. Two is improbable. And I think three is impossible." Says the speaker of the House, "Trying to do all three of them at once would ensure the defeat of all three."
To which I say: bring it on.
Actually, a new stadium for the university is not the worst of the three deals. The university is, after all, an arm of state government already. Throwing money at Gopher Nuts to support what is a public agency is better than subsidizing the two professional sports teams, which are private businesses.
I agree with John that providing public funds for a Gopher's stadium is easier to stomach. Gopher games would probably be a lot more fun to go to if there were an open-air stadium on campus. But there are other things related to education that politicians could fund. After all, cash given to a new stadiums is cash not given to, say, the library.