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Old Posted May 22, 2006, 2:53 PM
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New Minnesota Twins Ballpark Approved!

The new Ballpark was approved on sunday!

Twins ballpark dream comes true
Early Sunday, the team's stadium plan finally cleared its last legislative hurdle: Senate passage of the ballpark's financing.
Mike Kaszuba, Mark Brunswick and Paul Levystar Tribune Staff Writers

It was sunrise on Sunday. Jerry Bell, the Minnesota Twins chief stadium negotiator, had paced the Capitol floors all night as a new open-air ballpark for his team cleared its last legislative hurdle: passage by the Minnesota Senate.
"You work on something for 10 years and now it's finally over, it's finally happened. ... How can you sleep?" asked Bell.

This was the moment that Twins officials and many fans have dreamed about. By a narrow 34-32 vote, the Senate put the final touches on a $522 million stadium that will be largely built with a sales tax increase in Hennepin County to be put in place without a referendum. When the vote was announced, nearly six hours after the House had backed the proposal, the team's lengthy, controversial and at times improbable march for a new stadium had finally ended.

"Kirby Puckett's number. How appropriate is that?" Bell said, referring to the uniform number worn by the team's late Hall of Fame player. "That's perfect. I didn't want 35. We got the 34 vote. Perfect."

The stadium's estimated price tag includes $390 million for the facility's construction, $90 million for infrastructure and $42 million for financing.

The vote came the morning after the University of Minnesota also scored an impressive victory late Saturday, winning Senate and House approval to build an open-air stadium that would return football to campus after a quarter-century.

For Bell, the vote came after 10 years of consulting with lawmakers and lobbyists, fretting through meetings and occasionally, as he did Saturday, catching glimpses of Twins games just to keep calm.

Even when Bell was told Friday, as he had been several other times in the past weeks, that the deal for a new stadium was as good as done, he refused to believe it. Bell kept telling himself: "It's not a sure thing until the final moment."

But this morning, when Twins officials meet, there will be no doubt. "We've had some very tough, very tense meetings," Bell said. "But this one won't be tough."

For stadium opponents, such as Dave Bicking, there was little to celebrate the day after the vote.

"It's not entirely done," said Bicking, a Minneapolis auto mechanic. "Has Governor Pawlenty signed it yet? He hasn't, so there's a glimmer of hope."

For the Twins, the first victory came late Saturday when the House approved the stadium on a 71-61 vote. As the early morning hours wore on, the Twin stadium's prospects in the Senate seemed to hit several snags. Sen. Steve Kelley, DFL-Hopkins, an early Senate author of the Twins stadium proposal, said some senators -- sensing the importance of the stadium to legislative leaders -- were withholding votes in an elaborate series of political horse-trading.

Other legislators were reportedly concerned about language in the Twins legislation that, while not officially sanctioning a new Minnesota Vikings stadium in Blaine, went further than many preferred in outlining a potential Vikings stadium deal that could face legislators next year.

Saturday, it was university officials who were doing the celebrating. As the final vote on the Gophers stadium was announced in the House, Gophers Athletic Director Joel Maturi clenched his fist and smiled.

University President Robert Bruininks, wearing a maroon blazer, watched from the gallery. He told reporters later: "I think this is the right thing to do, and this is the right time to do it."


mkaszuba@startribune.com • 612-673-4388 mbrunswick@startribune.com • 651-222-1636 plevy@startribune.com • 612-673-4419

©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/446442.html
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