My Sunday column delved into the secrecy of one important piece of the financing puzzle of the new Saint Paul Saints ballpark in Lowertown St. Paul. Some readers have pointed out that we don't know the details of Target's subsidies of the Timberwolves' and Twins' stadiums. That's true, but neither of those deals are so intimately tied to the public subsidy as this one.
Before anyone accuses me of a low estimation of minor league ball, I will attest to my creds as a long-time resident of Durham, North Carolina, home of perhaps the most famous minor leaguers of all, the Durham Bulls. I also assert that the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, opened in 1995 as the replacement for the much-loved but decrepit Durham Athletic Park, has played a significant role in the revitalization of downtown Durham. It showed some true hubris by the City Council to build the ballpark back then, because voters had rejected it in a referendum, but those politicians have since either been voted out, retired or forgiven by those who have stretched out on the grassy lawn by centerfield, or watched the fake steam come out of the wooden bull's nose.
