Senate DFL ready to deal on stadiums legislation

05/09/2006

Chief sponsor says he’s willing to compromise to get Twins ballpark built

BY ARON KAHN
Pioneer Press

Political rhetoric aside, leaders of the DFL-controlled Senate appear willing to compromise on a plan to build a Minnesota Twins ballpark in Minneapolis.

With a stadium debate on the Senate floor coming as early as today, Republicans still complain that DFL leaders are trying to sabotage the ballpark by tacking on a Vikings stadium and paying for both projects with a metro sales tax.

But the Senate bill’s chief sponsor, DFL gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley, said Monday that building a Twins ballpark is a priority he won’t fritter away.

“I’m committed to getting the Twins stadium accomplished this year,’’ Kelley said. “If the public support for doing it this way doesn’t materialize, then I may look to other answers.’’

In other words, when push comes to shove, Senate Democratic-Farmer-Labor members ultimately may act to make a Twins ballpark happen.

Kelley, of Hopkins, said he has enough backing to pass his combined Twins-Vikings bill on the Senate floor, where sports facilities often fared well in the past. Supporters include Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, who once sponsored Twins legislation, and Taxes Committee Chairman Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, who was chief sponsor of a Target Center subsidy bill.

But the Senate measure would rouse a political skirmish between House and Senate. The hybrid Senate bill would deliver retractable-roof stadiums to the Twins and Vikings, along with billions of dollars to the Twin Cities transit system over 30 years, all financed by a half-cent sales tax — 10 cents on a $20 purchase — in the seven metro counties.

That plan diverges from one passed in the Republican-led House on a strong bipartisan vote. The House bill would simply impose a 0.15 percent Hennepin County sales tax — 3 cents on a $20 purchase — to pay for three quarters of a Twins outdoor ballpark only.

The top Republican leaders at the Capitol — House Speaker Steve Sviggum of Kenyon, Senate Minority Leader Dick Day of Owatonna and Gov. Tim Pawlenty — say unremittingly that the pending Senate action would kill the Twins bill because neither the House nor the governor would accept a metro tax.

The House also doesn’t want to consider a Vikings stadium, or massive transit improvements, at the same time as a Twins ballpark.

The Twins have problems with the Senate bill, too. It calls for a referendum on the tax, which the team calls a deal killer. It also requires the Twins to pay 25 percent of a $120 million roof, which the Twins say is too much.

And it forces team owner Carl Pohlad to give the public an advantage in buying the team — should it be put on the market. The “right-of-first-refusal” provision would hold down a sale price, the Twins say.

But the team has a problem with the House bill, too. It requires the Twins to give the public 18 percent of gross proceeds should the team be sold during the life of the bonds, meaning up to 30 years.

At a conference committee, the team would lobby for the House to give up its position on the 18 percent slice, and press the Senate to drop the metro tax, the referendum and the public’s right of first refusal on a sale.

The Senate also might be forced to drop the full Vikings stadium project, in favor of some planning money or other team incentive. In return, the Senate would try to persuade the House to approve some transit funds, along with money for youth activities and perhaps libraries.

But the politics of the stadium fight is likely to simmer to the end. The issue gives Kelley some important name recognition in his quest for the governor’s office, while fellow Democrats accuse Pawlenty of failing to lead on the issue. Pawlenty says he’s led from the beginning and that the Twins are his priority for passage of a stadium.

The governor also strongly supports a University of Minnesota campus football stadium, which likely will be debated today or soon. But the Senate bill diverges greatly from a measure overwhelmingly approved by the House. It eliminates three main elements of the House bill:

• A sale of recreational land to the state.

• A naming-rights deal with TCF Bank.

• A $50-a-year stadium-subsidy fee for students.

Instead, it would impose a 13 percent state sales tax at the wholesale level on all licensed memorabilia for pro and NCAA Division I college sports. But House leaders and the governor strongly oppose that tax.

Stadium conference committees are likely to be busy places as the session winds down over the next two weeks.