Lawmakers primed to give OK to Capitol ice palace
U.S. Bank Stadium and downtown Minneapolis will be the center of the action when Super Bowl 52 hits Minnesota next February. But St. Paul leaders hope to lure some visitors across the Mississippi River with a majestic undertaking of their own: an ice castle on the grounds of the state newly renovated Capitol.
The Legislature is ready to sign off on the frozen fortress.
A budget bill encompassing state government operations includes a clause authorizing the construction of an ice castle paid for with private funds. The use of tax dollars would be prohibited. The St. Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation, which stages the annual Winter Carnival, would negotiate a contract with the state to erect and operate the attraction.
Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, pushed to include the measure.
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“We just needed to clarify what our duties were to get ready to do it, and what we have to do when the castle comes down -- what do you do with the ice and how do you restore the lawn,” he said.
It fits with the local Super Bowl committee’s “Bold North” theme.
Mahoney said it’s important to show the national audience attracted by the heavily watched football championship game “how much fun we have during the winter.”
Mahoney is already excited about the potential tourism spillover.
“Not everything happens in Minneapolis,” he said. “This ice castle should be pretty spectacular and to have it lit up with the Capitol right behind it.”
There was also an ice castle built to coincide with the 1992 Super Bowl in the Metrodome. The castle was built on Harriet Island.
Rep. Sarah Anderson, R-Plymouth, who is sponsoring the budget bill containing the ice castle clearance, said it will help spread the Super Bowl spotlight to another city beyond Minneapolis.
Under the bill, castle custodians would be permitted to collect admission fees, but they would be waived or reduced for military members, veterans and their families. The castle couldn’t be closed for private events unless the commissioner of the state Department of Administration consents.
A separate bill would permit liquor sales -- wine, beer and hard alcohol made in Minnesota -- associated with the ice castle. That bill could come to a House floor vote as soon as this week.