NEW PLANS FOR SAVING THE TARGET CENTER EMERGE

     "Last-ditch efforts to salvage the crippled Target Center
buyout are focused" on a plan whereby the Minneapolis Community
Development Agency (MCDA), the city's economic development arm,
would buy the arena.  The plan was submitted to prospective
Timberwolves buyer Glen Taylor on Tuesday.  Under this plan,
Taylor would increase his purchase price of the team, thereby
lowering the purchase price of the arena.  Sources say that
although Taylor's upfront costs for the team would be higher, he
and Ogden Corp., the group that manages the arena, would benefit
from reduced arena operating costs from lower debt service and
reduced property taxes.  If Taylor accepts the deal, the
Minneapolis City Council could vote on the buyout as early as
Friday (Kevin Diaz, Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/11).  In August,
Taylor agreed to buy the team for $88.5M, while the arena buyout
would have cost the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission
$54M.  The public buyout of the Target Center failed due to a new
statute in the federal tax code.