Sep 14, 2005 3:39 pm US/Central
Best Buy Pitches $2.5M Toward Gopher Stadium
St. Paul (AP) ―
A fundraising effort to build a new football stadium for the Minnesota Gophers got a boost Wednesday when Best Buy Co. pledged $2.5 million.
The money from the Richfield, Minn.-based electronics retailer is contingent on the Legislature approving a stadium plan by Feb. 15, Best Buy spokeswoman Kelly Groehler said.
Stadium backers have been pushing Gov. Tim Pawlenty to call lawmakers back to the Capitol this year to vote on the Gophers arena, which would include state dollars covering 40 percent of the total $235 million price tag. Without a special session, lawmakers won't reconvene until March 1.
"Best Buy just gave another two and a half million reasons why we need a special session this fall to get the job done," University of Minnesota President Bob Bruininks said in a news release.
Best Buy's contribution is for "sponsorship opportunities," the release said, without providing further details. Those would be spelled out in negotiations over the next few months.
Earlier this year, TCF Bank pledged $35 million to hang its name on the stadium. That agreement expires at the end of the year.
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The 50,000-seat stadium is set to open fall 2009.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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