Stadium Blog Post

University regents endorsed a plan to swap Rosemount land for more stadium support from the state.

March 27, 2006
Star Tribune
Mary Jane Smetanka

A new plan to fund an on-campus Gophers football stadium took its first step forward this evening when the Board of Regents voted to support trading university-owned property near Rosemount for increased state support for a stadium.

Regents voted 11-1 to support the measure, which will be heard Tuesday in a Minnesota Senate committee and Wednesday in a House committee.

Under the plan, which surfaced last Friday, the state would commit up to $9.4 million a year for 25 years to service debt on a Gophers stadium. Once those payments were in, the university would sell more than 2,800 acres of environmentally sensitive land at UMore Park to the state Department of Natural Resources for $1. The land, which borders fast-developing suburbs, would become a nature preserve.

The plan is viewed by university officials and legislative supporters as a jump start to a stadium bill that stalled last year. The new amendment raises state contributions by up to $2 million a year, splitting the cost of the $248-million stadium equally between the state and the university. Previous proposals had the school paying 60 percent of the cost. The added state support would halve the amount students would be expected to contribute, from $100 to $50 a year.

Read the full story at: http://www.startribune.com/1592/story/334376.html