During today's second day of a special MN legislative
session, Twins Owner Carl Pohlad will reveal "how deep he's
willing to dig into his own pockets" to help the state build
a new ballpark, according to Weiner & Whereatt of the
Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Yesterday, Pohlad met with MN
Gov. Arne Carlson and other state officials and was told
that he "must make a substantial contribution" to any deal.
Several state officials had "challenged Pohlad to appear
before the Legislature" following his full page ads that ran
in yesterday's Twin Cities newspapers, in which he said he
was "prepared to discuss the Twins contribution." Weiner &
Whereatt add that on Thursday, there "seemed to be no
momentum for any stadium funding bill." Both houses voted
to break into committees "to hash out" ballpark plans, and
planned "to reconvene" on Tuesday to settle the stadium
debate "once and for all" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/24).
In St. Paul, Patrick Sweeney writes that some legislators
said that "no matter how much" Pohlad offers to contribute,
"it will not be enough" to convince the public and "wary"
lawmakers (St. Paul PIONEER PRESS, 10/24). PIONEER PRESS
columnist Nick Coleman writes on Pohlad's contribution,
adding, "The numbers most often bandied about were in the
neighborhood of $150 million. ... Unless Pohlad comes up
with that kind of money, the Legislature will have a hard
time turning a deaf ear to the public. ... Either Mr. Pohlad
ponies up big time, or the dream of a new ... baseball
stadium goes down in flames" (PIONEER PRESS, 10/24).