MPR’s Bill Wareham reports that Mayor Sharon Sayles-Belton says Minneapolis will put its money where its mouth is when it comes to keeping the Twins. Throughout the Twins quest for a new ballpark, Sayles-Belton has often said she wants the baseball team to remain in the city…bur much to the consternation of stadium supporters.
Sayles-Belton has never committed city resources to the project. That changed when she announced a plan for acquiring and preparing a riverfront site for a stadium.
BILL WAREHAM: The mayor's site preparation plan can only be described as skeletal. Sayles Belton's combination of publicly donated land, revenue from bond sales, and money from other city resources amounts to just over $16 million, enough to buy and clear the land for construction, but $38 million short of the money needed for a parking ramp and street work. Still, the plan allows the mayor to answer the governor and other stadium supporters who've complained that Minneapolis officials haven't demonstrated enough commitment to the Twins.
SHARON SAYLES BELTON: Acquiring the site is a significant first step, which demonstrates our commitment to keeping the Twins and making this new outdoor ballpark happen in Minneapolis. It's a step, which will ensure that Minneapolis is poised to immediately take action following legislative adoption of a finance plan to build that ballpark and to keep the Twins in Minnesota.
First Bank has already pledged to purchase the revenue bonds. Sayles Belton proposes selling for site preparation, but the pledge presumes the city council will approve the mayor's plan and that step is far from certain. Council member Jim Niland says he opposes the mayor's plan and anticipates a rocky road for it at the Council.
JIM NILAND: There were obviously votes against the Target Center bailout when that was before us a couple of years ago. And I think it's even more wildly unpopular now to engage in corporate welfare for billionaires like Pohlad, especially in a re-election year. So I think it'll be difficult to get to seven votes.
BILL WAREHAM: Council president Jackie Cherryhomes does support the mayor's plan.
JACKIE CHERRYHOMES: I haven't been in close contact with a lot of my colleagues on the council. Council member Burnett and I have spoken. We are committed to working together to put together seven votes.
BILL WAREHAM: Sayles Belton's plan also depends on a donation of two county parcels on the riverfront. Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Andrews says the County board hasn't been formally approached about the land. He says he too wants to keep the Twins in the city, but that the county would have to get something in return if it goes along with the mayor's proposal.
MARK ANDREWS: Well, the Hennepin County commissioners donated county land for the construction of the original Dome Stadium in Downtown Minneapolis. And to tell you the truth about the only thing we got in return for that was a sharp stick in the eye regarding land acquisition for a new site.
Certainly, the County Board would like to receive some consideration for that. If not monetary consideration, then certainly a greater role in Metropolitan governance, such as an appointment to the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission and an appointment to the Metropolitan Airports Commission. I think that would be a fair trade.
BILL WAREHAM: The Mayor hopes to resolve all these outstanding issues before September when Governor Carlson plans to call a special session on the stadium issue. I'm Bill Wareham, Minnesota Public Radio in Minneapolis.
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