The University of Minnesota is under fire because it pursued a donation towards the construction of its new football stadium from the notorious former owner of a Minneapolis strip club.
Robert Sabes, a local businessman and philanthropist who the Strib describes as "colorful but reclusive," was asked to donate $1 million in order to help build TCF Bank Stadium, the new outdoor stadium that the Gophers will move into in 2009. Sabes' family's foundation is listed as a $1 million contributor to the effort- which has had trouble raising the $86 million in private money it needs- even though Sabes for years owned Schieks Palace Royale, a famed gentlemens' club in downtown Minneapolis.
If you're Jewish and you're from Minneapolis, and the name sounds familiar, that's probably because of the Sabes Jewish Community Center (that's where my high school rec-league basketball games were, not to mention my grandfather's 80th birthday party.) That's the same family, showing that even in the land of Minnesota-nice, owning strip clubs and casinos and being one of the leading contributors to Jewish philanthropy are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Now, if only we could get Sabes to revive Shinders...
Posted by Stephen Silver at July 24, 2007 05:14 PMVery Generous! It's nice to see people donate to good causes!
Posted by: at March 24, 2010 05:52 PM