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Gopher stadium bill sent to House floor
April 5, 2006
Star Tribune
CONRAD DEFIEBRE
A proposed 25-year $235 million state contribution to a football stadium on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus cleared its final House committee hurdle today and is scheduled for a floor vote on Thursday.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Ron Abrams, R-Minnetonka, would commit the state to 25 annual payments of $9.4 million, beginning next year, for a $248 million open-air facility seating 50,000 to be named TCF Bank Stadium.
TCF Financial Corp. has agreed to contribute $35 million, also over 25 years, in exchange for stadium naming rights, advertising opportunities and other benefits. Student and parking fees would cover the rest of university's $470 million in university bond payments over the 25 years.
Abrams said the bill, which would put the Gopher football team back on campus in 2009 after decades in Metrodome, calls for the least amount of taxpayer funding of three stadium proposals before the Legislature, including the Twins and Vikings, and "the greatest public benefit."
The measure passed the Ways and Means Committee on a divided voice vote today after efforts to divert it to another committee and to tie the funding to limits on the university's stem-cell research were defeated.
