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Senate panel delivers ballpark surprise

The unanimous vote to require a referendum on the proposal's sales-tax increase might be a deal-breaker. But both sides agree it ain't over 'til it's over.

By Mike Kaszuba, Star Tribune

Last update: May 1, 2006 - 9:51 PM

A key Senate committee dealt the proposed $522 million stadium for the Minnesota Twins a potentially fatal setback Monday, voting unanimously to require a referendum on whether the project should be financed with a sales-tax increase in Hennepin County.

But the surprising vote, which followed a four-day impasse by the Senate Taxes Committee, appeared to confuse the status of the Twins stadium proposal more than anything else. While referendum supporters hailed the vote as a "huge victory," others downplayed its significance and said it may have been the temporary result of ongoing political maneuvering.

The vote, however, was not a good omen for the Twins and Hennepin County, which have insisted that delaying the project to hold a referendum, coupled with doubts that the stadium could win approval in a countywide vote, make the stadium essentially unbuildable.

"I've been nervous the last four days since I got here," Jerry Bell, the chief Twins negotiator, said of the committee's continuing meetings. "We haven't seen the end of this."

Adding to the confusion is the fact that the panel is also considering new football stadiums for the Minnesota Vikings and the University of Minnesota.

On Monday, stadium supporters appeared worried again that the committee's inaction was erasing any momentum that the push for new stadiums had been gathering as this year's legislative session heads for adjournment.

An attempt Monday to move the university stadium proposal out of the committee and directly onto the Senate floor failed decisively.

"We had it all in place, and now we're trying to muck it all up," Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna, said in complaining of the committee's inactivity.

For the Twins, the political stalemate in the Senate is in sharp contrast to Wednesday, when the team's proposal won an eye-opening approval from the House that seemed to send the stadium project on its way to full passage.

Though the Senate Taxes Committee will possibly cast deciding votes today, what will emerge is largely unknown.

Sen. Steve Kelley, DFL-Hopkins, said that he remained optimistic that a solution for all three stadium proposals would be found in the coming days and that his latest plan to finance both Twins and Vikings stadiums using a metrowide half-cent sales tax may have enough votes in the full Senate to pass.

He acknowledged, however, that he was unsure whether the proposal had enough votes in the Senate Taxes Committee. "We're still working on that," he said.

'Some progress'

Committee members said Monday's referendum vote was an attempt, after a weekend of differences, to find political common ground.

"I think we've made some progress here today, small as it might seem," said Sen. Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, the committee chairman.

Others suggested that the vote may also have been an attempt to place Republican committee members on the record regarding a referendum and perhaps to force Gov. Tim Pawlenty to take more of a lead role in the stadium debate.

"It may have been an attempt to see, 'What about Republicans?' " said Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, one of five Republicans on the 12-member committee. "I was surprised that it was unanimous."

Referendum supporters were likewise wary of Monday's result. "It's a great step for taxpayers today -- if it holds," said Dann Dobson, a stadium opponent who heads the No Stadium Tax Coalition. "My concern is this is just for show, at this point."

Mike Kaszuba • 612-673-4388

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