Stadiums a political juggling act for Pawlenty

10/30/2005

As 2006 nears, he faces ballpark boosters on one side, anti-taxers on other

BY ARON KAHN
Pioneer Press

“The stadium issue has been a public policy and political Rubik’s Cube for too long. It’s time to lead, solve the problem and move ahead.” — Gov. Tim Pawlenty, March 15, 2004

Twenty months after Minnesota’s governor said it was the right time to build a Minnesota Twins ballpark, the Cube remains unconquered and the issue haunts him like a heckler at a prayer breakfast.

Quietly, Gov. Tim Pawlenty counts noses to see if there’s enough pro-stadium support at the Legislature to make a special session work for the Twins, should he summon lawmakers back to the Capitol.

But is the governor truly serious about solving Minnesota’s vexing stadium problem now, or is he giving lip service to the stadium crowd until his expected re-election bid in 2006?

The betting is on the latter.

“If people think Tim Pawlenty is going to go out on a limb for a stadium, they’re making a big mistake,’’ said University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs. “He floats ideas; he’ll mention things, but he’s not going to go to the mat for this.’’

Fraught with ardent opponents and snaggy politics, the stadium issue stirs the electorate like few other matters and could threaten the governor’s re-election if he misjudges the fallout of his actions, say those who watch Pawlenty from the academic world. In particular, he needs to hold his anti-tax supporters, who have become increasingly suspicious of his spending motives.

In plain terms, no Twins ballpark for at least another year, they say.

“The stadium proposal has had a variety of incarnations, and the governor has had a variety of positions,” said Carleton College political scientist Steven Schier. “It’s a troublesome issue that was allowed to hang around indefinitely. As a result, he’s sort of dithering. He’s playing Hamlet.’’

Indeed, Pawlenty became an advocate of publicly subsidized stadiums only after becoming governor. As state House majority leader, he repeatedly voted against stadium bills, including a Twins bill in 2002.

The fact that three stadiums totaling $1.5 billion in public and private money are being pitched for the metro area makes Pawlenty’s predicament even more difficult. There are more people fighting for his attention and more people he can’t ignore.

Only Houston has considered and dealt successfully with three stadiums at the same time, and then only after a struggle.

The Twins are the greatest threat to leave the state right now. Although the Vikings and the University of Minnesota seek stadiums along with the Twins, the Vikings’ Metrodome lease doesn’t run out until 2011 and the Gophers will stay forever in their hometown.

The Twins are battling in court to preserve year-to-year status at the Metrodome as leverage to leave town. The basketball Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960. The hockey North Stars skated to Dallas in 1993.

While the chances of the Twins moving are marginal, the edge such flexibility bestows on the club is substantial. It was Pawlenty who said almost two years ago that he didn’t want to lose the Twins “on my watch.”

A strong stadium move by Pawlenty strains against a phenomenon different from anywhere in the nation: Minnesota staunchly resists publicly funded stadiums.

“With gas prices, hurricanes and Iraq, it’s practically criminal that Hennepin County residents could be forced to subsidize 75 percent of a roofless baseball stadium, especially with 100 percent of the stadium’s revenue going to Twins owner Carl Pohlad,’’ said Laura Lehmann, an Edina physician who follows stadium issues.

Perhaps adding to the struggle is the recent off-field behavior of Vikings players, under investigation for alleged lewd behavior aboard Lake Minnetonka charter boats.

“What’s going on with the Vikings may cast a very long shadow over anybody who is hoping to publicly finance sports facilities in Minnesota,’’ said David Carter, director of the University of Southern California’s Sports Business Institute.

Ironically, the least controversial stadium proposal — the University of Minnesota’s quest for an outdoor campus football stadium — is a major casualty in the stadium fight. Pawlenty said he would call a special session for the university stadium bill and a few non-stadium issues, but only if lawmakers assured him that a broad pallet of other issues wouldn’t come up and that he had adequate pro-stadium strength. No assurance was given.

“The governor feels it’s not accurate to say he wouldn’t be willing to tackle this issue before the election,’’ spokesman Brian McClung said Thursday.

Pawlenty fully expects stadiums to be on the agenda of the regular session beginning March 1, McClung said.

Ballpark boosters continue to pressure Pawlenty. The governor responded by twice calling baseball commissioner Bud Selig to see whether a solution could be found, by hosting stadium advocates at the Governor’s Residence, and by continuing to try to win lawmakers’ support for a short special session.

Although polls show most Minnesotans oppose stadium subsidies for pro teams, there are plenty of voters willing to give the Twins a hand.

“The Yankees have all the revenue to buy great players,’’ said Cooper Craig-Casmer, an 18-year-old ballplayer at Highland Park Senior High School in St. Paul and a first-time voter. “The Twins do a pretty strong job with the money they have, but I don’t think it’s so bad if Minnesotans help them a bit.’’

But political scientists say Pawlenty’s first priority is making sure his base of anti-taxers and social conservatives will pull the ballot lever for him in numbers similar to his 2002 election. Those voters seem not interested in subsidizing stadiums for wealthy athletes.

“The early morning reality that Tim Pawlenty faces is that he needs to unify the base of his party, and right now that base is in a lot of turmoil,’’ said Jacobs, adding that Pawlenty is perceived by some as yielding to a Minnesota tradition of taxing and spending for social needs.

“They see him as backtracking on taxes and having gone native on government spending,’’ Jacobs said.

A major problem with the Twins issue is an attempt to skirt a referendum on the countywide sales tax that would pay for three-quarters of the $478 million ballpark project in downtown Minneapolis. The team and a narrow majority of Hennepin County Board members contend a ballot issue would create delays and greater expense, while opponents say supporters’ real fear is that residents would vote it down.

Originally, Pawlenty said it would be OK if local elected officials impose a sales tax for stadiums. But Pawlenty has been saying lately that he prefers a referendum.

“He has a very populist image,’’ said Bill Morris, a Twin Cities pollster and former Minnesota Republican Party chairman. “By avoiding a referendum, he damages that populist image.”

So the 10-year-old Twins ballpark battle continues like a long, extra-innings game — electrifying supporters, enraging opponents and confusing a lot of folks in the middle.

Reserve the Cube for squares. This one is Pawlenty’s Political Pickle.

Aron Kahn covers the business and politics of sports. He can be reached at 651-228-5569 or akahn@pioneerpress.com.