The state’s Legislative Auditor is investigating the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority’s (MSFA) control and use of two prime luxury suites at U-S Bank Stadium. Jim Nobles is calling the matter a “priority.” He says “whenever there’s a question which has been given some high public visibility about the potential misuse, alleged misuse of public resources, I think the public deserves a quick and objective answer.”
Nobles says he hopes to complete the investigation by mid-January. MSFA Chair Michele Kelm-Helgen, who was appointed by Governor Dayton, has yet to comment on the investigation.
Nobles on what prompted the investigation:
Here is a response from the MSFA:
The MSFA appreciates the questions and concerns that have come up around suite use at U.S. Bank Stadium, and understand the need for transparency. The level of interest in this issue caught us off guard because we established our suite use policy based on comparable policies of the Metrodome’s three suites and other Minnesota public stadiums. We did identify the need to strengthen the Metrodome policy to include a very specific public marketing purpose. The MSFA has a significant responsibility and purpose to book the stadium with events beyond the 10 Vikings game in order to fulfill both the stadium’s mission as a public asset and to ensure that the stadium is financially able to meet its obligations.
We will have staff do research about public facilities’ suite use in Minnesota and around the country and present options for potential revisions to the MSFA suite use policy in early 2017. Until then, Commissioners will not be inviting family, friends or guests other than marketing prospects.
The MSFA’s suite policy clearly provides that the MSFA suites are to be used for the purpose of marketing U.S. Bank Stadium. To date, the MSFA has not kept lists of those attending for marketing purposes. Under the data practices act, the MSFA does not need to create data that does not currently exist. However, moving forward the MSFA will provide you with information on the marketing attendees. Please note, however, that the names of specific entities and individuals who are engaged in marketing discussions with the MSFA are nonpublic data or private data on individuals pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13.55, subd. 1. The law creates this very specific exception so that the Stadium can be successfully marketed in competition with other similar facilities nationally and internationally. Despite this exception, the MSFA will from this point forward make available the following information:
-the types of groups that are attending an event at suite (but not the name of the specific entities or their representatives); and
– the names of MSFA staff or Commissioners who are in attendance, as well as any other individual who attends as an MSFA guest to support the marketing activity.
Please note that to the best of our knowledge a quorum of the MSFA Board has never attended an event together in a suite. The MSFA always publicly notices official Board activities for which 3 or more Commissioners are expected to attend. There may be social activities where three or more are in attendance, but we don’t consider the marketing of the Stadium through use of the suites to be a social activity.
We welcome the Legislative Auditor’s attention to the MSFA suite use policy. Over the past 36 years, the MSFA and its predecessor, the MSFC have been audited annually by the Legislative Auditor. In the Metrodome, the MSFC had three suites with a policy much less focused on marketing, and the Legislative Auditor did not identify a problem with the suite use policy. I spoke to Jim Nobles yesterday, and he indicated that he would be looking at other Minnesota public stadium suite policies as well as ours, which will be helpful as we look at options to revise our policy if needed.
The following MSFA Commissioners and staff are scheduled to attend the Thursday game on behalf of the MSFA:
Michele Kelm-Helgen, Chair, MSFA
Ted Mondale, CEO/Executive Director, MSFA
Bill McCarthy, Commissioner, MSFA
No other individuals are scheduled to attend.
The following types of organizations are planned to be represented at the Thursday game for marketing purposes:
Tourism and convention center group
Educational institution
Concert promoter
Minority contracting group
Job Training and outreach group
NCAA operations group and LOC staff
Significant event promoter