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Pawlenty's turn to tackle stadium issue
November 4, 2003

Gov. Pawlenty and Finance Commissioner Dan McElroy announce a new effort to resolve the debate over new sports stadiums in Minnesota. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum)

Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he'll lead an effort to see if there's a solution to the stadium question. Pawlenty will appoint a screening committee to review stadium proposals from interested communities, teams and others. Stadium critics say the debate hasn't changed, and the public doesn't want public financing of sports stadiums.

St. Paul, Minn. — Gov. Pawlenty says he voted against every stadium proposal during his 10 years in the Legislature. He says he's still not committing to supporting a stadium bill, but he says he's open to the idea now.

"The economics of professional sports are a mess. But when you're the governor of the state of Minnesota, and you have a problem that isn't going to go away, and it's going to come to a head sooner rather than later, we gotta try to deal with it," he says.

Pawlenty says it's clear that the Metrodome isn't a viable option for either the Minnesota Twins baseball team, or the Vikings football team, much longer. He says if Minnesotans don't want to lose their professional sports teams, he's willing to look at options for keeping them in the state.

Oh, whoopee! Another commission! I can hardly wait! - State Rep. Phil Krinkie, R-Shoreview

Finance Commissioner Dan McElroy will chair a 19-member committee to analyze stadium proposals. McElroy says the invitation for proposals encourages joint efforts from cities, counties and private developers, but it doesn't specify how a stadium should be funded.

"It is unlikely that we would consider anything that has anything to do with the general fund or general obligation bonding, but we are leaving some options open in the event someone has something incredibly creative," says McElroy. "The governor has said, 'Let's get the ideas on the table.'"

McElroy says the committee has a deadline of early February to get recommendations to the governor. That's when the 2004 Legislature gets underway. Pawlenty says if the committee comes up with something he likes, he'll have to do some heavy lifting to get a proposal through the Legislature.

Vikings consultant Lester Bagley says he's encouraged by Pawlenty's comments. Bagley says the leadership of the governor has been lacking during previous stadium debates.

"Past stadium task forces have come up with solid recommendations, but we haven't had a governor to lead the charge for a solution," says Bagley.

Last year, then Gov. Jesse Ventura signed legislation that had the state helping to finance a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins. It specified that local funding must come from a city, which eliminated a Hennepin County proposal, and the Twins decided not to move to St. Paul.

	"Schools, not stadiums"

Both Minneapolis and St. Paul have identified sites for a new Twins stadium. At this point, only Anoka County is vigorously pursuing a new Vikings stadium.

State Sen. Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, has worked on football and baseball legislation in the past few sessions. He says Pawlenty's committee is probably the seventh stadium task force in the past decade, but it appears to have some promise.

"I like the fact we've kind of shortened up the time period, and the fact that -- I believe it's February 2 -- the session begins, and that's when the report is due, and then let the dance begin," says Johnson.

"Oh, whoopee! Another commission! I can hardly wait," says State Rep. Phil Krinkie, R-Shoreview.

Krinkie says he doesn't think the stadium proposals have changed much over the last few years, and whatever comes before the Legislature will likely have the same flaw.

"It comes back to the simple fact that the billionaire owners have failed to pony up a significant share of the costs -- even minimal 25, 30, 35 percent of the total construction cost -- expecting that state and local government are going to pick up over two-thirds or more of the total construction cost," says Krinkie.

A couple of House Democrats also criticized the timing of Pawlenty's announcement, coming on the day more than 100 Minnesota school districts asked voters to pay higher property taxes for education. Rep. Connie Bernardy, DFL-Fridley, says schools should be a higher priority than sports stadiums.

"Isn't it ironic -- on the day that the governor is proposing this new stadium task force, that our taxpayers are having to be asked to cover $74 million in funding that the state is not providing for basic needs for our students?" Bernardy says.

Pawlenty says the stadium debate is not as big a priority as education and other initiatives, but he says it should be on the table. He says if Democrats oppose a stadium bill, it won't move forward. Pawlenty also says if his new committee doesn't get good stadium proposals, there won't be any legislation before the 2004 session.

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