2004-05-12 CC Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Stadium bilI OK'd by key panel Page 1 of2 TwinCitiesecom Posted on Wed, May. 05, 2004 PIONEFR PRF$ Stadium bill OK'd by key panel BV ARON KAHN Pioneer Press A $1.2 billion stadium bill for the Twins and Vikings narrowly was approved by the state House Tax Committee on Tuesday, in a triumph of the governor's will over persistent resistance from lawmakers of both parties. However, the committee passed the complex measure with a major amendment that could delay or kill stadium construction: No local taxes for stadiums could be imposed without a referendum of voters In the host communities. The teams do not want the referendums. The last time a stadium referendum was held in Minnesota, St. Paul voters defeated a sales tax for a Twins ballpark by a wide margin in 1999. That was before the success of the Minnesota Wild and the Xcel Energy Center - which boosters think will improve odds of passage this time. St. Paul and Minneapolis are competing for a Twins ballpark. If the stadium bill passes the Legislature, a new Minnesota Stadium Authority would choose one of the cities, after which a referendum would be held in the selected community. If Minneapolis were selected, the referendum would be held in Hennepin County because county taxes would be imposed. A referendum also would be held throughout Anoka County, which wants to impose taxes for a Vikings stadium in Blaine. As amended Tuesday, the stadium bill also forces the Twins back on cable television. No money could be spent for a ballpark until the team ends a dispute that has kept its games off the largest providers of cable TV since the beginning of the season - a blackout that has irritated lawmakers and fans. "If you're here for $400 million, it's your responsibility to get the games on the air," said committee Chainnan Ron Abrams, R-Minnetonka, referring to the Twins' request for a two-thirds public subsidy of a ballpark. The TV amendment, proposed by Abrams, would not necessarily force telecasts of this season's games, however, because stadium construction bonds likely would not be sold until at least next winter. "My mother will be happy with that amendment," Jerry Bell, president of Twins Sports Inc., the Carl Pohlad company that owns the Twins, said after the vote. Bell's mother lives in a nursing home and has complained to her son about the impasse between the Twins' new cable channel, Victory Sports One, and large cable providers. Lawmakers peppered the committee with about 30 amendments, several of which passed. One successful amendment gives incentive to the University of Minnesota's plan for a campus football stadium. If the university can finance 60 percent of the $222 million stadium project through private donations, the govemor and Legislature should agree to appropriate the rest, the bill says. As for the Twins and Vikings, Tuesday's action clearly explodes the myth that a third of the financing would come each from the host communities, the state and the team. In the case of a $525 million Twins ballpark, for example, $250 million would come from the host community, $100 million from the state and $175 million from the team. The Twins would need to pay 25 percent of their share in upfront cash, but could pay the rest over time from ballpark revenue. Because the Twins have agreed to share profits from a team sale with the public (should a ballpark be built), Bell said the team should get credit for that concession as part of its initial ballpark share. Such credit is not in the bill. The Vikings also have a problem with the bill. The state's share, coming in the form of a tax increment financing arrangement in a stadium district, does not provide enough money for a Vikings stadium, team Executive Vice President Mike Kelly said after the vote. Currently, the state's share is limited to $185 million for a Vikings stadium estimated to cost $645 million. http://www.twincities.comlmldlpioneerpress/8589724.htm?template=contentModules/prints... 5/5/2004