Mall of America: Phase II (Minneapolis, Bloomington: hotel, theater, casino)

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by golfgal

The MOA brings in a LOT of tourist money into MN. The MOA sees more visitors each year than Disneyworld. People stay in the hotels, eat at restaurants, buy things at the stores, visit museums, etc., etc. etc....it isn't only about what jobs it creates.

Now imagine how much revenue it would generate if we taxed clothing like most other states.

Regardless of what money it brings, if the owners sense enough demand, they can finance the expansion themselves. Obviously that has not happened, so perhaps the demand isn't great enough. We're already on the hook for two new stadiums.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Globe199

Now imagine how much revenue it would generate if we taxed clothing like most other states.

Regardless of what money it brings, if the owners sense enough demand, they can finance the expansion themselves. Obviously that has not happened, so perhaps the demand isn't great enough. We're already on the hook for two new stadiums.

If we taxed clothing, much of the tourist industry would fall off....

[Pisces69]

Is there any info on the MOA expansion? Is it happening?

[Globe199]

Originally Posted by golfgal

If we taxed clothing, much of the tourist industry would fall off....

At the risk of acting like a dork on an internet message board, I'll ask: can you provide a link or some other form of proof for this claim?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by Globe199

At the risk of acting like a dork on an internet message board, I'll ask: can you provide a link or some other form of proof for this claim?

Proof--go to the MOA, find people buying a lot of clothing and ask them why they are buying it here . I worked at the MOA about 18 years ago. People would come by the busload to buy clothing in MN because of the tax situation, especially people from Canada and the HIGH taxes there. We had people from all over the world buy a LOT of clothing, thousands of dollars worth, ship it back to their homes, etc. Ask anyone that works in a clothing store at the MOA.

[Globe199]

I believe we had this argument here once before, but I don't buy it. Instead of simply asking someone (the availability heuristic), I would rather see some kind of scientific consumer survey. I just refuse to believe that people would spend $XXX traveling in order to save $X on tax. It doesn't make any sense. Winnipeg is the closest Canadian city, at least seven hours by car. That's probably a good $100 of gas, not to mention lodging.

Manitoba sales tax is 12%. You'd have to spend $833 to reach $100 of Manitoba tax. So you'd need to make at least $933 of tax-free purchases at the MOA to simply break even on the sales tax. We're assuming all USD here; you may lose money on currency exchange. Anybody spending that kind of money on clothing probably doesn't care about sales tax anyway. Don't even get me started on what it would cost to fly here, lodge here, and pay to ship your purchases internationally.

But a lot of people are dumb, so...

I believe people truly go to the MOA because it's huge, has every imaginable (clothing) store, and you can spend days there. The mall might offer stores these people don't have back home. So they might tell you it's for tax reasons, but they're kidding themselves.

[sandlapper]

Originally Posted by Rabbidave

My wife and I love the mall in Clearwater Florida where they just added a huge IMAX theater complex and restauants that are really cool. In Tampa we have an Ikea and really love it . Recently bought a huge dresser (solid wood and no imitation wood anywhere for $299.00!) You will love Ikea products and food. We hope to eventually visit MOA as a side trip from Wisconsin. Minnesota is a dream of mine especially fishing out of Ely. Twin Cities were awesome but it was years ago sadly. We stayed at the Holidome when they offered a special while your new belt-line highway was under construction. The place was a mess at that time but not the immediate downtown.

There is already an IKEA next to MOA http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/twin_cities. I think they mean connecting it to the mall and adding the Mall over the blvd is off the table now. Hope you guys make it back to the TCs eventually!

[Mdcastle]

I liked the mall a lot better before they remodeled it to look more generic and took out a lot of the trees in the amusement park in favor of day-glo colored rides. I think a copy of Edmonton's waterpark would be a big hit here considering we don't even have a decent outdoor one and the climate here, I'm surprised it's never been proposed anywhere here.

[wherespankakehouse?]

I think Phase II should include a casino. You must have an out-of-state license to enter. New light rail station dumps you right out on to the gaming floor. Nice little boost for the general fund.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Mdcastle

I liked the mall a lot better before they remodeled it to look more generic and took out a lot of the trees in the amusement park in favor of day-glo colored rides. I think a copy of Edmonton's waterpark would be a big hit here considering we don't even have a decent outdoor one and the climate here, I'm surprised it's never been proposed anywhere here.

I loved the trees in the center of the Mall of America ... that's one one of the main reasons I used to go in the wintertime ... just to see the green and walk in a warm outdoorsy atmosphere.