Committee set for Twins Stadium hearings

[Lynch]

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Key hearings will be held this week on the fate of a new Minnesota Twins stadium.

The Minnesota House tax committee will hold two days of hearings on whether Hennepin County voters should be asked to approve a local sales tax increase to help fund a new ballpark.

The committee's approval is critical if the project is to move forward. Twins officials say they need a new stadium to generate the revenue to remain competitive.

The team has proposed a 42,000-seat open-air stadium for the Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis. Hennepin County and the Twins say no state funds would be needed for the ballpark, which would cost about $522 million. To pay for its share of the stadium, Hennepin County wants to levy a countywide sales tax.

The hearings will focus on whether the plan should be exempted from a state law requiring a referendum on such tax hikes. The Twins want to avoid the referendum, while various groups believe the tax proposal should go to the voters.

From ESPN.com

[Lynch]

For anyone who isn't terribly familiar with this tax they are talking about, what it comes down to is $0.03 on every $20 spent. So, if you went out to dinner and it cost you you $60, you would now be paying $60.09

Put in terms like that, I have a hard time being against it. Also, this is a consumer tax, it's not a resident tax. If you spend money in the county, you get this extra tax. If you don't, then it doesn't affect you at all.

[mntwinsfan]

the meetings are today and tomorrow. It would be nice to get this passed. Maybe then polad will spend money becuase he would know that there is a stadium being built and the bp and a better hitting dh we would go get.

What about the Vikings then? Where are they at with there stadium?

[DiamondGirl]

Let's hope this all works out and we can be going to games at Kirby Puckett Park!!!

[Lynch]

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It took nearly seven more hours of meetings on Friday, but when it was done, Minnesota Twins fans were one important step closer to a new ballpark.
The House Tax Committee met from 10 a.m. CT until 5 p.m. at the State Office Building, discussing numerous amendments to the bill that would facilitate construction of a new Twins park. When the talking was done, the committee voted 15-13 to approve the bill and send it on to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Despite some minor changes to the bill made in the committee meeting, Twins officials said the plan is still very workable.

"We were lucky today," said Jerry Bell, president of Twins Sports, Inc. "We heard dozens of amendments, but there weren't any that were deal-breakers or any that will impede our drive to get a new ballpark built."

Committee members heard dozens of proposed amendments, ranging from financing plans and changes in current eminent domain law, to discussion seeking assurances that Twins games would remain available on radio statewide for free.

After all of the discussion, a bipartisan group of state representatives voted to move the bill along in the legislative process. Interviewed via phone during the Fox Sports North broadcast of Friday night's Twins game versus the White Sox, team president Dave St. Peter said that the bill may be heard before the full House of Representatives as early as next week.

In the Minnesota Senate, the bill is still awaiting a hearing in the Taxes Committee, meaning that there is still legislative work to be done before the bill would get to the desk of Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty for a signature. But Bell, for one, couldn't help but smile at the advances the bill has made in the past few days.

"It's been a good week," Bell said. "This is a difficult committee with a lot of senior members and a lot of strong opinion, so this is real progress."

In short, it's looking better and better all the time. The committee approved the bill 15-13 to send it to the next round. That's a very very slim maragin, but it's better than nothing.