ST. PAUL'S $65M ARENA BID REJECTED BY MN SENATE

          The city of St. Paul was dealt a "stunning, though not
     unexpected, blow" yesterday when a Senate committee
     recommended that no money be spent on the city's hockey
     arena, according to Maria Douglas Reeve of the ST. PAUL
     PIONEER PRESS.  The move means that a bill containing
     capital improvement projects for the state will go to the
     Senate next week minus $65M for improvements to the St. Paul
     RiverCentre.  The decision had been "foreshadowed for
     months" as the Legislature debated financing a new baseball
     stadium for the Twins (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 2/27).  In
     Minneapolis, Sid Hartman reports that "the word in St. Paul"
     is that Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe "and many members
     of the Legislature are firm on their stance: If a [baseball]
     stadium isn't going to be built, then St. Paul shouldn't be
     given" $65M for a hockey arena (STAR TRIBUNE, 2/27).  Also
     in MN, Robert Whereatt reports "any hope of resuscitating
     support for a baseball stadium was dashed" yesterday after a
     bill that "would have established a framework for
     transferring the Twins to a nonprofit community organization
     was defeated on a 12-4 vote" (STAR TRIBUNE, 2/27).