Done Deal!

by cmathewson on May 21, 2006 10:22 AM EDT Comment 27 comments

Both houses of the legislature passed the Hennepin County/Twins bill early this morning. There was a scary moment when a couple of rogue senators tried to send it back to conference committee to add a referendum to it, which would have killed the bill and negated thousands of hours of work by hundreds of people. But that amendment was voted down and the ultimate bill passed by a margin of two votes 34 (Puckett) to 32 (Gladden). Kirby has to be laughing in heaven over that one.

Governor Pawlenty has said he will sign it during the week some time. So three cheers for Jerry Bell, Mike Opat, Dave St. Peter, Steve Sviggum the Governor and all those who had held fast to the ideal of the beauty of outdoor baseball and persisted in leading this process to its historic conclusions!

What does this mean for this Twins fan? I can hardly describe it. But allow me to dream for a few minutes.

I drive up with my son from my home on the edge of the Big Woods and park at the Mall. We hop aboard the light rail, which takes us to Best Buy Field and drops us off right out in front. It's a chilly May Minnesota day with puffy white clouds and a good northwest breeze.

We make our way through the wide, windowed concourses to our seat four rows above the visitors dugout along the first base line, which my mortician friend has retained from his Dome season tickets. We're closer to the field in the sold-out stadium than I've ever been.

And we're not only on time to watch the Twins warm up on the grass field, we actually make the National Anthem. The flags flap in the breeze above the score board in center field and the clouds cast shadows on the players, who take off their caps along the base lines for the singing of the National Anthem.

After the baritone belts out that last notes, the players run out to their positions. The outfielders play catch: Jason Kubel in left, Denard Span in center and Michael Cuddyer in right.

Justin Morneau is tossing balls to the infielders: David Winfree at third, Jason Bartlett at short, Alexi Casilla at second. Johan Santana is warming up with Joe Mauer behind the plate. He throws down and Bartlett catches and applies a shadow tag of an imaginary runner.

The umpire yells "Play Ball" and we're underway as Juan Uribe of the White Sox steps in to face Santana. I sip my Summit Extra Pale Ale, and say a quick prayer of thanksgiving for this beautiful day for a baseball game.

The game goes well. The Twins win. The sights, sounds and smells put me in a little trance as I keep score and wonder how far Morneau's homer went over the right field bleachers. It's a little slice of heaven.

I get a little sunburned, but I don't notice until I'm sitting next to my son on the train back to our car. And I don't care. This has been one of the greatest moments of my life and I'm ensured that I can go to see my beloved Twins at this beautiful ballpark as long as I live. And my son and grandkids can as well.

That is what this morning's votes mean to me. I never again have to worry about losing the team I love more than anything except God and my wife and child. And I can look forward to the day when the wind takes a fly ball off the bat of Justin Morneau over the right field wall towards the Minneapolis downtown skyline.

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Is it a done deal?

Yes, the Gov will likely sign this next week. However, there are many more hurdles to overcome and don't be surprised if the opposition attempts to block this deal at several steps along the way.

The County will now begin the normal development and zoning steps which will include several public hearings and votes at various governmental agencies. Concurrent with this process will be a negotiation for the purchase of the site. Should the landowners and County not agree on a price, will the new eminent domain law become a problem for this project?

The County will have another set of public hearings and final approval prior to putting the tax in place next year. Should there be a change of heart by one of the 4 votes (4-3), a change of a commissioner or something as small as one of the 4 yes votes being unable to attend the meeting when it is voted on...this slim majority could become a minority. Finally, will there be an attempt to kill the deal with one or more lawsuits, and if so will they be successful?

Do I expect us to be watching your lineup play outdoors on opening day in 2010 (other than I am guessing the shortstop will be Paul Kelly), yes! Is it a done deal...not yet! But yes, it was wonderful getting over the biggest hurdle this deal faces...substantially increasing the probability of a new baseball stadium for the Twins.

by roger on May 21, 2006 10:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hurdles

Roger, you're harshing my buzz.

The County has already approved the deal. That can't be undone. The land owners have agreed in principle to the sale. If anything, the eminent domain law helps to ensure that the sale price is fair. It gives the county more leverage.

As hard as Mike Opat and others on the county board has worked, they're not going to let little logistical issues get in the way of this thing being finalized.

I had Kelly in the original but changed it to Bartlett. He's just too good for a rookie to displace him by that time. And as good as Kelly looks from a tools perspective, he hasn't done all that much at Beloit yet. That means he's more than four years away from displacing a proven veteran from his spot in the line-up. it might happen, but I wouldn't bet on it at this point.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on May 21, 2006 11:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't want to rain on your parade...

...as I agree that the odds of this becomming a done deal went from about 40% to 85-90% during the last few weeks. However, the County does have to approve the deal once more...after a series of public hearings later this year (This final action will put the proposed tax into law following the recent approval of the State). It is likely that the opponents will make another attempt to derail this deal at that time. Should something unusual happen to the makeup of the County Board between now and fall, the deal could be in jeopardy.

Also, it was reported recently that they will need to finalize the land deal and that no discussions had occured between the County/Twins and the Heins group in some time. In addition, this project will need to get all the normal governmental approvals...considering the makeup of the Minneapolis City Council, there will be ample opportunities to create hurdles for this deal as with any other major development project.

Do I think this deal will happen, yes. But don't think that there won't be many more sleepless nights for the Twins and those on the County Board who support this stadium.

by roger on May 21, 2006 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

85-90%

That, I think, is a fairly pessemistic number. The Twin sstadium is now state law. It is almost definatly going to happen. THe goevernment doesn't let five hundred million dollar projects go down to logistics and inspectors. The county will approve it since the state over powers them.

by AdamOnFirst on May 21, 2006 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is understanding...

...that today is a day for joy, as many of us thought this day would never come. What no one wants to hear however, is that the County Board must vote again (following more public hearings) to authorize the sales tax prior to its becomming effective. This was last approved by a 4-3 margin. Yes, it should get approved again...most likely by the same margin.

What I want to point out is that there are a lot of things that need to be completed which could create obstacles. It is also likely that there will again be strong opposition at the County Board level when the public hearings are held regarding authorization of the tax...should there be any changes in the County Board, a new commissioner may not be in favor of this project which would in essentially kill the deal.

Are these type of things likely, NO. But like any major real estate development, there are many hurdles that must be overcome to finilize any deal. Every once in awhile an obstacle will arise that will kill a deal. That may be a reason that when Joe Mauer was asked about playing in the new stadium, he responded he will talk about it when they start digging.

by roger on May 21, 2006 8:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

YAAAYYY

YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!

That is all I can say!

by AdamOnFirst on May 21, 2006 11:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Get out of contraction free card

As I watch the Twins play the Selig Family Brewers this afternoon in the Bud Selig Maximum Revenue-Extracting Machine, listening to Mr. Selig speak with the Milwaukee announcers, it hit home. This is the Twins' get out of contraction free card. There's no way Selig can talk about contracting the team without seriously jeopardizing the hopes of any other club building a new stadium. So we don't have to worry about the c-word for a while now.

Of course, now the good folks in Oakland and Miami will probably be feeling the pressure soon, when the next CBA comes up for negotiating, so that sucks.

by ubelmann on May 21, 2006 3:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Bud's glass house

Milwaukee is a crappy baseball town. It lost one franchise and did not deserve another. Heres where Bud's crew finished relative to their league in attendance the past 15 seasons.

For some reason, the subject of how crappy the Brewers' attendance is annually never is broached.

11 of 16
13 of 16
13 of 16
11 of 16
7 of 16
14 of 16
13 of 16
11 of 16
11 of 14
12 of 14
13 of 14
12 of 14
14 of 14
10 of 14
13 of 14

by Firpo Marberry on May 21, 2006 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No

No offense to anyone here from Milwaukee, but I though Milwaukee itself was on the crappier end. I didn't see much other than Miller Park (which IS lovely), but it seemed like a big St Paul minus the good parts, which is to say, not so hot.

by AdamOnFirst on May 22, 2006 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's because...

...it doesn't make for very good stadium propaganda when you actually realize that new stadium doesn't necessarily mean greater attendance. (In the Twins' case, though, it'll likely mean much greater revenue, even if it doesn't lead to better attendance.)

by ubelmann on May 22, 2006 1:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Argue

I would try to argue, but no point anymore. The stadium is won.

And quiet you, roger.

by AdamOnFirst on May 22, 2006 2:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not trying to express...

...an opinion on the stadium necessarily, just my general distaste for propaganda.

by ubelmann on May 22, 2006 2:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remember...

...these comments this fall when the public hearings are scheduled and the opponents come out to speak against the deal.

by roger on May 22, 2006 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Opponents

The opponents have mostly evaporated, except for a few (six) nut jobs who picketed the Governors mansion. Remember that tax committee meeting at a middle school in Bloomington? That was staged by John Marty to galvanize the opposition. It didn't work. There were thousands of stadium supporters and two dozen opponents.

My guess is they've conceeded defeat. Besides, even these nut jobs can recognize that there are bigger fish to fry: National debt, historic trade deficits, oil company price gouging supported by the President's energy plan, Vietnam II, government spying, rampant corruption at the highest level, committing a felony in the White House, etc...

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on May 22, 2006 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully increased revenue = increased attendance

If things are done right, ownership will start planning for the payroll the new park will support immediately, which should allow the Twins to be even more competitive on the field.

Give the people better baseball & they will come.

"People" are such frontrunners ...... ;)

by BD57 on May 22, 2006 8:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Other sources

I think there will be increased atendance for at least a couple of years, but long term, the team will have to win. And that's what is missing in those markets where attendance has not improved.

The biggest thing for the Twins is parking, concession and suite revenue. The Twins get no parking revenue at the Dome (the Strib gets most of it because they own most of the lots), the Twins get $.25 on every dollar of income from concessions (the Metrodome Sports Commision gets .$75, which it puts in the bank and increases its $20 million surplus while it lets the Dome rot and waits five years too long to change out the turf), and no suite revenue (The Vikings get two thirds of it and one third goes to a one time GM of the Vikings, Mike Lynn, for life).

The hidden story is that this is the worst lease in baseball and there is no way to change its terms. So they had to build new to get out of some of the deals that were signed when the Vikings had the state build the Dome.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on May 22, 2006 10:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There will be...

...many wonderful sources of revenue, although much of the parking will go to the City of Minneapolis in the existing ramps by Target Center. Unlike Miller Park (county stadium to me), this site won't have hundreds of acres of site level parking.

by roger on May 22, 2006 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

which is good

a ballpark should not be surrounded by parking, although it seems to work in Milwaukee. We tried to get out of the parking lot after a game and finally just gave up and drank there.

But then again, maybe it doesn't work in Milwaukee judging from the attendance numbers.

by wcooley on May 22, 2006 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The parking

The one GREAT thing about the massive parking lot outside Miller is that it rocks the house for tailgating. That is why all the spaces are so huge, so people can tailgate. That was a major part of their decision.

by AdamOnFirst on May 22, 2006 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

tailgating vs bars

I loved the tailgating. And we got out of the Miller lot on the east side within 5 minutes on Friday night.

I guess I can see the point about the bars as well.

bjhess blog

by bjhess on May 23, 2006 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This site offers both

Ample opportunities for tailgaiting, perhaps on the top of the large parking ramp but also in a 450 car open air lot across sixth street from home plate. And of course there's the whole warehouse district full of bars. That's one of the things I don't like about the Dome. There's Huberts and a few bars on Washington, but that side of Downtown is mostly parking and the hospital. And if you do decide to overdo it at one of the bars, you have rail opportunities close by. It's a great site for festivities.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on May 23, 2006 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Rail!

Yeah, the rail! I mean, we can eliminate the drunks from our society by tricking them into peeing on the third rail!

Oh...

OOOHHH...

You meant not driving drunk. Right...

by AdamOnFirst on May 24, 2006 12:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My understanding....

...is that the lots around the Target Center, constructed for 394 traffic to downtown, which will service the ballpark, will send a percentage of the event parking revenue to the Twins, as they do to the Timberwolves for T-wolves games. I think that's in the Hennepin County agreement. But I don't have a copy of it, of course. So I can't prove it.

Joe Mauer for MVP.

by cmathewson on May 22, 2006 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

trade-offs

the tailgating is cool, but having bars close to the park is also cool. Miller Park is a "stadium," Wrigley Field is a "ballpark." I think I prefer the ballpark.

I once got parked in at Comiskey and walked for blocks looking for a bar, it was worse than the Metrodome. I never did find a place that was open.

by wcooley on May 22, 2006 2:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs