Tax revenues generated by Target Field, the new home of the Minnesota Twins, were significantly higher in 2010 than in 2009, when the team wrapped up a final season in the Metrodome.
How much higher? Well, the state of Minnesota pulled in $11.6 million from fans at Target Field, $6.6 million higher than in 2009. The city of Minneapolis pulled in $6.3 million in 2010, as compared to $900,000. Most of that increase came from a 3 percent entertainment tax on Target Field tickets, which was not assessed on games at the Metrodome.
In addition, Hennepin County collected $254,000 from sales taxes generated by the ballpark. A half-cent increase in the Hennepin County sales tax is a prime source of revenue for paying off ballpark-construction bonds.
The irony, of course, is that the state didn’t contribute a red cent to the project yet is enjoying a significant windfall. The city of Minneapolis did contribute, and the money from the entertainment tax is slated to address that debt.
Share your news with the baseball community. Send it to us at editors@augustpublications.com.
Subscribers to the weekly Ballpark Digest newsletter see features before they’re posted to the site. You can sign up for a free subscription at the Newsletter Signup Page.
Join Ballpark Digest on Facebook and on Twitter!