A park planned to accompany Minneapolis' new football stadium has raised controversy because of the amount of proposed subsidies. While the details are worked out, planners consider the elements that will ensure its success.
The new park, which will accompany the city's new football stadium, will bring welcome green space to downtown Minneapolis. However, the park and an adjacent parking garage have been approved for city bonds that push it into controversial and, some say, illegal territory by exceeding the state's allowable threshold for spending on infrastructure improvements.
"A lawsuit filed last week argues that this violates state laws for the stadium’s public funding, which capped infrastructure improvements at $150 million. The Yard and adjacent parking lot, the lawsuit argues, fall under that umbrella and push it over the $150 million threshold," writes Bill Bradley.
However, many remain optimistic about the fate of the park and have moved on to questions about how to make the park successful with programming: "[A]s Streets.MN wrote last week, 'By far the most important piece of a successful park is not its design but rather its programming.' The Yard will host tailgaters during Vikings’ home games, but it can’t just be a bunch of guys wearing purple and yellow chugging High Life on Sundays. The city needs to think about ice rinks, potential vendors, concert series, festivals — the sort of programming that makes it a destination 365 days a year," urges Bradley.
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