The Minnesota Twins hosted an impressive public groundbreaking party for their stadium last week featuring celebrities, fireworks, and a fly over salute by military planes. An estimated crowd of 5,000 attended, enjoying $1 brats, $5 beer and a concert, plus autographs from Twins alumni, speeches and the witnessing of history as shovels broke ground on the $522 million project in the downtown warehouse district.
The event had been rescheduled from earlier in August because of the 35W bridge tragedy. The postponement added to the cost, according to a Twins spokesman, but he declined to identify a figure. Another source said the original event budget was about $130,000. Corporate sponsors helped the Twins cover much of the expense.
Speculation continues as to how much the final cost of the stadium land will be. A condemnation panel set the value at almost $24 million late last month but that decision is likely to be appealed. That’s about $11 million more than Hennepin County was prepared to pay and it’s been known for some time that while the county will not pick up the difference the Twins will be involved. A source at the groundbreaking event suggested that the city of Minneapolis could be a revenue source, contributing money from two nearby city owned ramps expected to generate about $7 million annually. However, another source said the city will not use those revenues for that purpose but could help the stadium project, including infrastructure, with a new Minneapolis ticket tax expected to generate about $3 million annually.
Among those absent from the groundbreaking ceremonies were governor Tim Pawlenty, mayor R.T. Rybak and a number of Twins players. Pawlenty reportedly declined to attend, perhaps sensitive to the bridge tragedy and flooding crisis in southern Minnesota. Rybak had a conflict and attendance at the event was optional for Twins players.
Joe Mauer probably generated the biggest cheers from the crowd, some of whom booed commissioner Bud Selig, no doubt recalling the days several years ago when major league baseball considered contracting the Twins franchise. Mauer, who grew up here watching indoor big league baseball, talked about how excited he is to play outside in the new stadium. Selig described the Twins as a special franchise because of its successful history including two world championships and said the team’s “front office is the envy” of baseball for its intelligent management. He told the crowd the new stadium ensures the Twins will be in Minneapolis for the “next two or three generations.”
The vision for the 40,000 seat ballpark, scheduled to open in 2010, includes making the facility one of the best in America. Planners are in the advantageous position of coming at the end of a major league baseball stadium era that began in the early 1990s and they can pick and choose from the best features.