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St. Paul (AP) ― With a cloudless blue sky outside the Capitol dome, the Minnesota House debated Wednesday whether to bring Twins baseball back outdoors with a new ballpark paid for mostly by taxpayers.

The downtown Minneapolis stadium project will cost $522 million -- three-fourths from a higher Hennepin County sales tax -- and would allow the Twins to flee the Metrodome, their home since 1982 and the place where they clinched two World Series crowns.

The biggest showdown was over a waiver letting the county boost its sales tax without voter approval. An attempt to require a referendum failed 66-64. Another to add a retractable roof with proceeds from a proposed statewide tax also went down.

Debate on the bill started just after 11 a.m. and was expected to last several hours.

In the House chamber, one legislator had a baseball jersey draped over his chair and another had a Kirby Puckett figurine on his desk. Outside the chamber, Twins stadium executive Jerry Bell paced like an expectant father.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Brad Finstad of New Ulm, urged his colleagues to give the county the go-ahead so the 10-year stadium debate would be concluded once and for all.

"It's a fine-tuned, well-negotiated agreement between the Minnesota Twins and Hennepin County," Finstad said. "This is the opportunity for us to get a ballpark built for the Minnesota Twins without state money."

A state law requires local governments to put sales tax increases to a referendum. But the county and the Twins say it would cause too much uncertainty and increase the project's cost.

Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington, pushed to require the referendum. She said it was the least the Legislature could do on an issue dividing the residents of the state's most-populous county.

"We can't stop this. We can see this," she said. "The body has decided that it's OK to tax a subset of Minnesota to buy something for everyone else in Minnesota."

Rep. Phil Krinkie, R-Lino Lakes, joined her fight. "Even if you allow the citizens of Hennepin County to vote, the Twins will still be here," he said.

But Rep. Neil Peterson, R-Bloomington, said he watched the Minnesota North Stars leave town while he was mayor of their host city. He said he fears a similar fate for the Twins if the ballpark plan stumbles.

"Some of us were sent here to lead," he said, adding, "Had we had a referendum on the Mall of America it would have never been built."

Even with House consent, there is no guarantee the Senate will pass identical language on the stadium bill.

In fact, the chairman of the Senate Taxes Committee has hinted he'll put forward an alternative financing plan. Sen. Larry Pogemiller, DFL-Minneapolis, has scheduled a Thursday hearing on the bill. His committee is comprised of several lawmakers who have expressed concern with the current bill.

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty supports the proposal, but he said he would prefer the 0.15 percent sales tax go to voters. It amounts to three cents on every $20 spent, excluding purchases of clothing, food, medical supplies and automobiles.

If the bill passes this year, the Twins say the new ballpark would open in time for the 2010 season.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee planned to consider a University of Minnesota bill for an on-campus football stadium. It asks the state to kick in up to $9.4 million a year for 25 years for stadium debt. The rest would come from private donors and student fees.

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The Metrodome opened in 1982.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)