The State of Minnesota had hoped that new electronic gambling machines would provide the necessary revenue to pay for the state’s share of building a new stadium for the NFL’s Vikings. Â Those funds are (unexpectedly!) are not materializing.
Tax revenue from those games is supposed to fund the state’s $348 million share of the $975 million Vikings stadium slated for downtown Minneapolis. But the tax revenue from the games, which started to become available in September, fell short of projections by about half through the end of 2012: While $35.2 million was projected to come in, the games returned only $17.2 million in tax revenue.
We’ll have to keep an eye on this to see if things pick up or not. Â Various people with a skin in the game are preaching patience, and that may be all that’s needed. Â But if not, what does the government do if reality continues to fall short of projections?
Phil, the bonds let for this project are appropriation bonds. As I understood them from testimony and floor speeches, the final backstop is the general fund. The state must appropriate debt service for the bonds. The revenues from e-tabs and linked bingo are paid into the general fund for the purpose of covering the bonds. If the new revenues fall short, the state is expected to appropriate other general fund revenues for debt service. See the final bill (HF 2958, Article 2, Sec. 1.)