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).
