Gophers, Twins stadiums on the verge of final passage

University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks acknowledged that final approval of the Gopher football stadium is still pending in the Minnesota House and Senate. But the agreement reached by members of a conference committee was still reason to celebrate.

"This is a milestone in a four-year effort to bring the Gopher stadium back to the University of Minnesota campus, where I think it belongs. This is a great day for the University of Minnesota and for the citizens of our state," said Bruininks.

The legislation allows the university to build a 50,000 seat stadium on the Minneapolis campus. The state will pay for just over half of the $248 million project, at a rate of $10.25 million a year from the general fund. The university will also transfer ownership of 2,800 acres of undeveloped land in Dakota County to the state.

Lawmakers reached the deal after Senate DFLers dropped a proposal for a sports memorabilia tax. They also increased the annual state contribution by $1 million, to reduce a proposed student fee from $50 a year to $25.

Rep. Ron Abrams, R-Minnetonka, was proud of the deal. Abrams, who's leaving the Legislature to become a judge, reflected on the significance of the moment.

"The last bill and the last vote we're going to be taking is something that I'm not doing for myself. I'm doing it for my kids and for kids throughout Minnesota, actually building something and building communal pride for one of the finest land grant institutions in the nation," said Abrams.

The agreement did not get unanimous committee support. Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, remained opposed to the use of student fees in the stadium financing.

"There are students who are being compelled to pay a student fee who may not ever attend a game or go to the stadium. I think we are sending the wrong message," said Moua.

We don't want to lose our Minnesota Twins. For a lot of Minnesotans, that would be like losing fishing.

In total, the University of Minnesota will pay $110.7 million for the stadium. The university will get $35 million through a naming-rights arrangement with TCF Financial. The rest will come from student fees and donations.

U of M President Bruininks says the university has raised $55 million so far, including the TCF money. He expects the Legislature's action will trigger a new wave of donations.

"The fact that we didn't get the bill passed last year put our fundraising on hold, essentially. We raised a little money in the last 12 months, but I think this will give a great deal of energy to private fundraising," said Bruininks. "And I'm very hopeful that we'll be successful enough to lessen or eliminate the student fee in the process."

The other big stadium deal is for the Minnesota Twins, for a a $522 million ballpark in downtown Minneapolis, using a .15 percent Hennepin County sales tax to pay for the bulk of it. Twins owner Carl Pohlad will contribute about one-fourth of the cost.

Jerry Bell, president of Twins Sports Inc., says the deal basically means an end to the team's decade-long quest to get a new ballpark.

"For the state of Minnesota, for our fans, for our employees and our whole organization, this secures our future," said Bell.

The details of the agreement still need to be finalized, and the House and Senate both need to pass the final agreement. Leaders in both bodies say the votes are there to pass the bill and Gov. Pawlenty says he'll sign it.

"I think it's a reasonable bill to try to meet the important goal of keeping the Twins in Minnesota, and we need to do that. I did declare that we would not lose the Twins on my watch, and we're not going to," said Pawlenty.

Critics of the stadium plan say they'll continue to lobby state lawmakers to defeat the bill. Stadium opponents say they'll also protest outside of the governor's mansion on Saturday. They want the governor to insist that the Hennepin County voters get their say on the sales tax this fall. A referendum is required by state law, but the ballpark supporters have secured an exemption.

Longtime stadium opponent Dann Dobson says he's disappointed and angry at Senate DFLers. Dobson believes the Senate deceived the public.

The DFL-controlled Senate passed a metro-wide sales tax to pay for two new stadiums for the Vikings and Twins, as well as transportation projects. Then the Senate largely abandoned that plan in negotiations with the Republican-led House, and moved towards the measure preferred by Hennepin County, the Twins and the House. Dobson is irate.

"It was classic bait-and-switch," says Dobson. "If a used car dealer would have done this they would have gone to prison."

Senate conferees say there was no deception. They prefer their original bill, but knew it didn't have support at the Capitol.

Still, Dobson says stadium critics may pursue a lawsuit if the proposal becomes law.

Another opponent, Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, says he'll lobby his counterparts in the Senate to defeat the proposal. He says no taxpayer money should be used to pay for a Twins ballpark when billionaire owner Carl Pohlad can pay for one himself.

"We're dumping $522 million into a building?" Marty asks. "The whole reason it's designed, the whole reason it's being built, isn't for the fans. It's for new ways to get more money, to charge more in naming rights, ticket revenues, luxury suites, club suites, all of those things."

The day's action included a consolation prize of sorts for the Minnesota Vikings. The team was pushing for an Anoka County sales tax and some state money to build a $675 million retractable roof stadium in Blaine. The House and governor didn't like the plan because it included state funds, and didn't receive enough legislative scrutiny.

Sen. Steve Kelley, DFL-Hopkins, who pushed for a Vikings stadium, included a provision in the agreement that designated Blaine as the preferred future home of the Vikings. Lawmakers have also agreed to direct Anoka County, the team and the state to figure out a way to pay for a retractable roof.

"The Twins were able to keep hope alive over a multiple number of years, and I think the Vikings and Anoka County should do the same thing," said Kelley.

Gallery

Fullscreen SlideshowPrevious Slide

1 of 1

Next Slide