Ballpark a go: County and landowners settle

The two sides reached an agreement after two weeks of mediation. No details will be released until Monday morning.

By Her, oacute;n M and aacute;rquez Estrada, Star Tribune

Last update: October 12, 2007 - 11:55 PM

The deal took a few extra innings to complete, but a settlement on Friday between landowners and Hennepin County appears to remove the final roadblock to a new $522 million baseball stadium for the Minnesota Twins.

The two sides, which during the past year have feuded like the Yankees and Red Sox, agreed to a deal after two weeks of mediation before retired Hennepin County District Judge Rick Solum.

The landowners had maintained the property, which the county had condemned earlier this year so that construction could begin, was worth $33 million; the county wanted to pay $19 million.

Although the Twins said work was proceeding on the new ballpark, the deal ends what had threatened to be a protracted and expensive legal battle over the land sale.

County officials had worried that if they paid too much for the land there might not be enough money left to complete roads and other public works projects around the new stadium.

As part of the settlement announced by the Hennepin County Attorney's office late Friday, neither side will speak about the deal before Monday morning.

"We're respecting the settlement agreement, which calls for neither side to say anything until 10 a.m. Monday," said Aron Kahn, spokesman for the landowners.

"I am pleased that we seemed to have come to an agreement and that we can move forward in funding infrastructure rather than attorneys," said Hennepin County Board Chairman Randy Johnson. "We hope we are done on this. Now we move on, on building a ballpark."Obviously I'm very pleased about it, although I don't know any of the details," Jerry Bell, president of Twins Sports Inc., said Friday. "It just seemed like it should be settled."

Although the ballpark is scheduled to open in 2010 -- with or without Johan Santana -- it appeared for awhile that the dispute over the price of the land could possibly derail the 42,000-seat stadium. Negotiations over a final price continued even after the Twins held a ceremonial groundbreaking in August.

The settlement apparently averts a jury trial that had been scheduled for Nov. 13. The landowners had appealed the $23.8 million pricetag set during condemnation proceedings.

The agreement likely must still be approved by Hennepin County District Judge Stephen Aldrich, who is presiding over the upcoming condemnation lawsuit.

When the mediation was announced last month, a spokesman for the landowners said the battle would end if the mediation succeeded.

Before both sides agreed to mediation, the owners of the 10-acre parcel on the west edge of downtown offered to settle with the county for $33.18 million to avoid a court fight. The county's counteroffer was $19.3 million.

How they got there

Friday's announcement indicated that county officials had agreed to a sale price that allows them to buy the land and still have enough money to complete the necessary infrastructure improvements surrounding the project.

Under state legislation passed last year, infrastructure costs -- roads, bridges and other features outside the ballpark -- are capped at $90 million.

As it became clear that the $90 million might not be enough to buy both the land and pay for the infrastructure improvements -- especially as the likely land price climbed beyond $20 million -- Hennepin County reached a private agreement with the Twins to help contribute financially.

Both the Twins and the county have declined to release details of that agreement, including how much the team was willing to contribute.

At one point, as the ballpark legislation moved through the Legislature, both the county and the landowners seemed to share in the enthusiasm that the much-debated outdoor stadium for the Twins was about to become reality.

But soon after the legislation was approved, authorizing a countywide 0.15 percent sales tax to finance the stadium, relations cooled.

When the county formally filed to condemn the property late last year, the landowners accused county officials of making little attempt to privately arrive at a price without going to court.

Beginning early this year, tempers flared as county officials and the landowners traded accusations over who was to blame for the impasse.

By Friday both sides were ready to play ball.

Herón Márquez Estrada • 612-673-4280

Herón Márquez Estrada • hme@startribune.com

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