Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk will meet next week at the Capitol with the private group trying to bring Major League Soccer to downtown Minneapolis, but a spokeswoman for the Senate leader said he remains firmly opposed to any public subsidy for the venture.
The meeting between Bakk and former UnitedHealth CEO Bill McGuire is set for next Tuesday afternoon at the Capitol, said Alyssa Siems Roberson, Bakk's spokeswoman. She said McGuire's group asked for the meeting and that Bakk's office assumes it's to request some type of taxpayer assistance for a stadium they want to build near the Minneapolis Farmer's Market.
To date, no details of any subsidy request has been released publicly.
Last month Major League Soccer's commissioner awarded a franchise to McGuire's group, despite efforts by the Minnesota Vikings owners to land a soccer team for the new football stadium already under construction.
Bakk, Gov. Mark Dayton and House Speaker Kurt Daudt have all repeatedly poured cold water on the notion that state lawmakers would approve any kind of state help for another new stadium. Dayton said state leaders have "stadium fatigue" after approving public subsidies in recent years for the Twins, Vikings and University of Minnesota stadiums.
As of Wednesday night, neither Daudt nor Dayton had any meetings scheduled with McGuire, according to their respective spokespeople.
