The City of Minneapolis and MN Governor Arne Carlson
yesterday asked local business leaders to help finance $12M of
the $54M needed to buy the Target Center and complete the deal to
sell the T-Wolves. Under the plan, the city will issue $42M in
general obligation bonds, while local business leaders would buy
$12M in additional bonds. Business leaders would be in a
"secondary position," meaning they would not get returns on their
investments until the city's obligations were paid. Among the
local business leaders who met with officials Wednesday
afternoon: Dayton-Hudson, Norwest Bank, First Bank, IDS,
Honeywell, U.S. West and Cowles Media. Carlson and Metropolitan
Sports Facilities Commission Chair Henry Savelkoul say the issue
must be settled by March 1, the date by which Wolves and Target
Center owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner must inform the
NBA if they plan on moving the franchise. Carlson, who called
the arena a "state asset," says he will not need to ask the MN
Legislature for help if business leaders can come through (Weiner
& Diaz, Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE, 1/26).
