May 10, 2006

MN Senate: Everybody gets a new stadium!

The Minnesota state senate swiftly voted 34-32 yesterday to approve more than $1 billion in subsidies for new stadiums for the Twins, the Vikings and the University of Minnesota football team. To fund the two pro stadiums, a 0.5% sales-tax increase would be put in place in the seven counties around the Twin Cities; this tax hike would first have to be approved by a voter referendum.

There a good chance it won't even get that far, though, as the senate bill clashes with the state house version, which includes only a 0.15% sales-tax hike in Hennepin County, no transit projects, and no stadiums for the Vikings or the U of M. The legislative session ends May 22, so that gives the two sides just 12 days to reconcile and re-vote on the two competing bills. So far, it's not going too smoothly: While the chief sponsor of the senate bill expressed a willingness to compromise on Monday, and added yesterday that he's not committed to a voter referendum, there still appear to be significant divides between the two legislative bodies, especially on how broad to make the tax and on whether to include transit programs; and senate majority Dean Johnson skipped an initial meeting at the governor's office yesterday to hash out a settlement. "There's a huge train wreck that's coming," senate minority leader Dick Day told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "You're betting on a conference committee to solve it all."

Add in that Twins president Jerry Bell reiterated yesterday that any public referendum on a stadium tax would be "a killer," and the Twin Cities' triple-stadium plan still faces a long row to hoe. And that's assuming the legislature doesn't get distracted again by some other trivial matters, like passing a budget.