The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC)
"offered Wednesday to drop its lawsuit against the Twins in
exchange for the team making a commitment to stay in
Minnesota for at least two more seasons while attempting to
find a local buyer," according to Millea, Weiner & Hartman
of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The MSFC has sued the
Twins in an "attempt to block them from exercising an escape
clause after this season in their Metrodome lease." The
MSFC proposal calls for Twins Owner Carl Pohlad to work with
the commission in establishing reasonable terms for a
purchase price. A new owner would have to commit to playing
in the Metrodome through the 2005 season. Twins President
Jerry Bell said team officials were studying the offer. The
MSFC also voted to "return to" the Vikings, Twins and Univ.
of MN Gophers an "amount equal to" the 10% admission tax
collected on tickets sold which now goes to the commission.
That Twins would earn a projected $970,000 from that this
year. The payments would begin in '99. The commission also
voted to "study successful public stadium authorities around
the country and make a recommendation to the Legislature for
a reconfigured commission that will have more authority and
financial backing than the present one" (STAR TRIBUNE,
7/16). The teams would be allowed to keep 100% of any new
marketing or advertising revenue from their campaigns. In
St. Paul, Sweeney & Walters write that the deal "anticipates
that a new stadium eventually would be built in the Twin
Cities" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 7/16).
