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Sid Hartman: Stadium would have aided Twins
Sid Hartman, Star Tribune
Published December 7, 2003 SIDH07
If the Minnesota Legislature had passed a reasonable baseball stadium bill last year or if it looked certain that a bill would be passed this year, one without a referendum, then you can be certain Twins owner Carl Pohlad would have raised the budget for the player salaries this year and LaTroy Hawkins, A.J. Pierzynski and Eric Milton would still be with the team.
But that is not the case.
The Twins payroll has gone from $24 million in 2001 to $41 million in 2002 and $56 million this past year. And it would have had to go to maybe $75 million in 2004 to keep the 2003 roster.
It is easy for me to say Pohlad knows it might be more difficult to get a stadium bill passed now that the club has unloaded some superstars, and that it might have been smart for Pohlad to add to the budget this year and see what happened in regards to a new ballpark.
Some members of the Legislature are going to complain about the Twins' personnel losses and use this as an excuse not to vote for a stadium bill.
But when a team has lost millions of dollars over the past few years like the Twins have, it's not easy to add to the payroll.
The big problem for both professional baseball and football in Minnesota is that without modern stadiums, the Twins and the Vikings can't compete with teams that have the new stadiums and the additional revenue that comes with them.
So if the members of the Legislature want the Twins and the Vikings to be able to put winning teams on the field in the future, new stadiums are a must.
Work on stadium
Talking about stadiums, on Monday, the University of Minnesota will hold a news conference to announce the results of a feasibility study and the costs of a new football stadium on the campus.
Dave Mona, the chairman of the Gophers football stadium project, is spending two days of his work week on campus trying to get the project moving.
The big question is going to be where is the money going to come from.
T. Denny Sanford, who originally announced he will contribute $35 million towards the construction of a new stadium, is telling friends that it's about 90 percent certain he won't be able to work out the payment schedule, the naming rights and other things concerning a new stadium. Negotiations with the university continue, but people who know Sanford say the deal won't work.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has made it clear that he is not in favor of two football stadiums, one for the Vikings and another for the Gophers.
Meanwhile, more than one top alumnus has come out in favor of the University of Minnesota taking over the Metrodome when and if the Vikings and the Twins get new stadiums.
I'm 100 percent in favor of a new Gophers football stadium on the campus.
But it's going to be very difficult to raise $220 million for building a stadium seating 40,000 fans. And if you are going to build that type of smaller, cheaper stadium, Minnesota is never going to be a big-time football school.
Randle back
The Vikings were sure that defensive lineman John Randle had grown old and lost a lot of his ability to rush and sack quarterbacks.
But Seattle thought otherwise and signed Randle to a five-year, $25 million contract in March 2001. And Randle took a $2 million pay cut and agreed to have his contract restructured so the Seahawks could improve their defense this past offseason.
Today, Randle will return to the Metrodome in a Seahawks uniform.
"I had a great time in the Twin Cities and it will be fun to be back in the Metrodome," Randle said. "That is a loud place and it will be interesting to be there on the other side of the excitement."
Randle isn't a starter anymore, playing only in passing situations. But he has four sacks this year and 136 for his career. Two more will put him in fifth place in career sacks.
Jottings
A baseball source reports the Chicago White Sox are offering a three-year contract to Twins closer Eddie Guardado for $15 million, while the Twins are offering a two-year deal for $8 million with a $4 million option for a third year.
Jac Sperling, Wild chief executive officer, said a story appearing in the Nov. 24-30 issue of the Street and Smith Business Journal -- saying that the team was turned down by the NHL when it tried to get a new mortgage of approximately $80 million for refinancing -- is inaccurate. "The league didn't turn us down -- we have our financing set at a lower interest than we had before," Sperling said. Sperling wouldn't say the amount of money that the new financing calls for.
Vikings ticket manager Phil Huebner reports that 150 tickets for today's game against Seattle are available at the Metrodome ticket office.
Michael Bauer, Ben Johnson, Kris Humphries, Moe Hargrow and Adam Boone have started every Gophers men's basketball game this year, including Saturday's victory over Western Illinois. They are the first all-Minnesota starting lineup for the team since 1960. . . . Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said he has a number of Division I-AA football teams who are available to replace Baylor on the 2004 schedule. Baylor withdrew and will play the Gophers in a later season. However, Maturi continues to look for a big-time opponent to replace the Bears. . . . Jerod Arlich, a 6-4, 245-pound Mahtomedi fullback, was offered a Gophers scholarship the other night when coach Glen Mason made a home visit. . . . The word in NFL circles is that fullback Thomas Tapeh is top-rated among Gophers seniors when it comes to rankings about which players will be drafted. . . . Former Gophers gymnast Courtney Norman is an intern on the Alamo Bowl staff. . . . Dick Biddle, a former Gophers football assistant, is now the coach at Colgate, which advanced to the I-AA semifinals by beating Western Illinois on Saturday.
Holy Angels hockey center Mike Taylor has verbally committed to Harvard for next season. Taylor chose the Crimson over Colorado College, the Gophers and Notre Dame. Taylor joins former Eden Prairie standout Dave Watters in Harvard's recruiting class. . . . Troy Davenport, a goalie who played for Simley last season, tied a United States Hockey League single-game season high in saves with 53 while playing for Green Bay last week. . . . Gophers hockey recruits have done well so far this season in the USHL. Tom Pohl, the younger brother of former Gophers star John Pohl, has six goals and 19 assists in 23 games for Tri-City and is tied for seventh in league scoring; Mike Howe has 15 goals and nine assists for River City and is tied for ninth in league scoring; former Mahtomedi standout Brent Borgen has seven goals and 13 assists in 25 games for Lincoln; and defenseman Derek Peltier has a goal and 14 assists in 22 games for Cedar Rapids.
Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO 830-AM at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. He is at
[email protected].
