Minneapolis wants to keep bids for big events private
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In exchange for awarding the 2018 Super Bowl to Minneapolis, the Star Tribune reported the NFL's confidential bid documents asked organizers for a long list of freebies. Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Minneapolis officials are seeking blanket permission to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with organizers of major events they're trying to lure to the city.
Why it matters: The trade-off for landing a $100+ million, Super Bowl-level event may be some government transparency.
What they're saying: Some high-profile event planners aren't eager to have their "sensitive bid materials" subject to public disclosure, city officials wrote.
- Many are even reluctant to reveal who's vying to host, the city's enterprise events manager, Andrew Ballard, told the council this week.
Case in point: Before Minneapolis made a bid last year to host the Sundance Film Festival, organizers wanted city officials to sign an agreement that kept bid materials private.
- The city's current process requires a council vote, which revealed the existence of Minneapolis' bid.
Friction point: Sundance was OK with that — but other organizers wouldn't be, Ballard told the council, which could knock Minneapolis out of the running.
The other side: Several City Council members sounded skeptical about conceding transparency or their authority to oversee these bids.
- "The reason these organizations want NDAs is so they can play jurisdictions off each other to maximize what they get out of it," Council President Elliott Payne said at a committee hearing.
- "NDA is a scary term in government," Council Member Katie Cashman added. Her colleague Robin Wonsley worried about a "slippery slope."
The fine print: In their proposal, city officials pledged to only enter into NDAs whose terms don't conflict with the state's open records law, the Data Practices Act.
Between the lines: Ethics advocates have questioned municipal governments' growing reliance on NDAs as sacrificing transparency for large corporations' benefit.
- In an email to Axios, University of Minnesota law professor Jane Kirtley raised doubts that the city has the authority to sign these NDAs while also following open records laws.
Flashback: In confidential bid documents for the 2018 Super Bowl later obtained by the Star Tribune, the NFL demanded a long list of freebies from organizers — from police escorts to hotel rooms — before they awarded the event to Minneapolis.
- Organizers later said that not all of the NFL's demands were met.
👀 What we're watching: Minneapolis wants to submit a bid on a "very significant … $250 million" event, Ballard said.
- City staff will ask the council for permission to sign an NDA related to the bid sometime in February.
What's next: A council committee voted to advance the city's request to the full council — but several indicated they wanted safeguards built into the proposal.