In a letter to legislators, Governor Pawlenty outlined the projects he removed from the state’s bonding bill through his line-item veto authority. All civic center projects, including the Mayo Civic Center expansion, were removed from the bill. The governor’s line-item vetoes total $319 million in projects.

For southeastern Minnesota, this is a lost opportunity in job creation during a time of high unemployment. The Mayo Civic Center expansion would have created 400 construction jobs and 800 permanent jobs in the region’s hotel, restaurant, and entertainment industry. The state also is losing out on the opportunity to collect an additional $1.5 million in sales tax revenue and $1.4 million in income tax revenue each year from the increased economic activity. Without the expanded facilities, the Mayo Civic Center will continue to turn away numerous business opportunities due to facility inadequacies.

As noted previously, we would like to extend our gratitude to the region’s legislators that recognized the economic impact of the Mayo Civic Center expansion and supported the project throughout the session.