April 20, 2006
Twins backers back Twins
The Minnesota state house taxes committee held the first of two public hearings on the Twins stadium proposal yesterday, in advance of the committee's vote on the plan. Perhaps in some sort of bizarre attempt at Midwestern decorum, yesterday's hearing was set aside for stadium supporters, while tonight's is for opponents; the pro-stadium arguments on display yesterday ran the gamut from... well, let's just let them say it in their own words:
- "[Twins owner Carl] Pohlad is 90. I'm 65. It takes four years to build the ballpark. Do the math." --Twins president Jerry Bell, arguing that the stadium issue is bigger than any one team owner, or something
- "I feel the vibrations of my father.'' --Twins fan Sally Mars, describing the feeling she gets at ballgames
The Twins also delivered miniature baseball bats to committee members, each with the inscription: "Take the bat off your shoulder and swing." So does that mean the Minnesota legislature should be making productive outs?
There are also indications that "stadium fatigue" is taking its toll on more people than just Doug Grow: state Rep. Paul Thissen explained his intent to vote for the stadium bill by telling Minneapolis Public Radio: "This issue sucks all of the oxygen away from all of the other legislative proposals that come before it. It just takes up so much time. I think that's a factor. ... We've had this issue in front of the state for a decade now."
Meanwhile, the Hennepin County Commission, as expected, has reiterated its support for the $373 million Twins sales-tax subsidy, by the same 4-3 vote as last year. And once again, it was all four men in favor, all three women opposed, leading to accusations that girls don't get baseball; retorted county commissioner Gail Dorfman, a Twins season-ticket holder, "I would love to see us have a new stadium. But the 80 percent public, 20 percent private [financing] is backwards."
Added her colleague Gail Koblick: "We're tired. We're worn out. People who oppose it feel that they are just one voice without powerful lobbyists, and we're tired."
So much for tonight's hearing being a forum for opponents to the stadium bill. The Twins or Twins supporters set up tents, grilled brats and had a chorus line of supporters wearing Twins jerseys chanting outdoor ball. Wally the Beer Man was handing out free baseball caps and Kent Hrbek was there.
Rumor was the Twins trucked in the season ticket holders to this "opponents" forum. I have a feeling this bill will pass and we will be financing a ballpark.
Posted by: Mark Stoltz on April 20, 2006 10:07 PM
There were free Twins hats for the taking, free t-shirts, and plenty of freebies with the Twins logos.
Even if the Twins spend $1 million dollars on lobbying, trinkets, etc, they still stand to receive roughly a 300% return on their investment.
Does anyone remember the bumper stickers that say, "It will be a great day when schools have all the books they need and the Air Force has to have a bake sale to buy a bomber."?
Well, maybe it's time for bumper stickers that say, "It will be a great day when schools have all the books they need and a baseball team actually pays for their own stadium."
And yes, there was a motor coach parked around the corner from the Middle School loading up Twins supporters.
Posted by: John on April 21, 2006 12:20 AM
