St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman has "proposed doubling the
St. Paul sales tax to put the Twins in a new stadium in or
near downtown," according to Rybin & Kahn of the ST. PAUL
PIONEER PRESS. Should supporters of an open-air stadium
receive 5,000 signatures on a petition to begin circulation
Tuesday, voters on November 2 will "be asked to approve a
half-percent sales increase in the present city sales tax."
The tax would raise an "estimated" $10M a year, which would
go toward a 30-year, $100M loan for the city's one-third
share of the stadium. If approved, Coleman "will need
approval from the Legislature," and he admitted the effort
is "a long shot -- 5 to 1, 10 to 1 against. There are so
many hills to climb, but I don't know another path."
Coleman added that "he has been talking to potential new
owners" of the Twins, and "hopes investors other than the
Pohlad family will buy half or more of the team" in the
upcoming months (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 6/13). In
Minneapolis, Diaz & Duchschere wrote that the Twins were
non-committal to Coleman's effort, and issued a statement
that stated while they support Coleman's "efforts to put the
ballpark to a ballot test," they will "continue to listen to
... Minneapolis or any others who come forward." Also,
the Minneapolis City Council "refused to refer" Mayor Sharon
Sayles Belton's proposal for a Hennepin County sales tax to
fund a new ballpark to committee (STAR TRIBUNE, 6/12).
