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How Did John Kline Make That Metrodome Ad?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota viewers are getting bombarded with political ads again this year. But one political commercial seems to be standing out.

Three term Republican Congressman John Kline filmed a memorable ad inside the Metrodome.

"Selling out the Metrodome is a good thing," the ad says. "But selling out our children's future isn't."

And many of you asked us: How'd he get to do that?

Kline's been wondering how to convey to people just how big the national debt is. He and his campaign settled on the Metrodome for the ad.

"America's national debt is 16 trillion dollars," the ad says. "It's the equivalent of selling every seat in the Metrodome, every single day, for 9,000 years."

The Kline campaign actually rented the Metrodome for $500 an hour. Anybody can; Kline was just the first politician to think of it.

The campaign covered over all the advertising around the Dome and put up their campaign signs. And they were able to use the scoreboard and the public address system.

Kline shot the commercial on Oct.1, and it took about six hours.

And groups rent the Dome all the time for things like flag football and baseball tournaments. That's one of the big benefits of the Dome, and presumably the new stadium, too.

How did they come up with that 9,000 years national debt figure? Pretty simple.

They figure $70 a ticket...65,000 seats. To pay off the $16 trillion debt, it would take 9,000 years selling every seat every day.

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