Apr 25, 2007 8:18 pm US/Central
Lease Seals Twins' 30-Year Hitch To New Ballpark
St. Paul (AP) ―
-
-
The Twins and the Minnesota Ballpark Authority are expected on Thursday to sign off on the lease that binds the franchise to a three-decade stay and grants the team almost every dollar generated within its walls. (File)
Minnesota Twins
Two weeks after revealing the design for a new downtown Minnesota Twins ballpark, the forces behind the project are ready to ink the deal dictating who does and gets what when the place opens in 2010.
The Twins and the Minnesota Ballpark Authority are expected on Thursday to sign off on the lease that binds the franchise to a three-decade stay and grants the team almost every dollar generated within its walls.
"The Twins have made a firm, 30-year, no-escape commitment," said Jerry Bell, president of the team's parent company. The lease allows for two 10-year renewal options.
Most components of the agreement were discussed when the authorizing legislation was making its way through the Capitol last spring.
The Twins get to keep all revenue from ticket sales, advertising, naming rights, tours and concessions during baseball games. They must share 10 percent of net revenues from nonbaseball events with the authority.
The 119-page document gives the Twins power to levy seat license fees, but Bell said Wednesday that the team hasn't determined "how, when or if" to do so. Seat licenses are one-time payments charged to people seeking to purchase season tickets at a new facility.
The team will be charged $900,000 in annual rent, with a portion of that subject to inflation. The money will flow into a maintenance fund.
Unlike the Metrodome, day-to-day operations of the ballpark will fall to the Twins, said Dan Kenney, executive director of the ballpark authority.
"You have got the team taking full responsibility, 100 percent for maintaining and doing the upkeep to this facility," he said.
It also means the Twins will have a large say in what concerts, conferences, community festivals or other nonbaseball events are held at the ballpark when the baseball team isn't in town.
The appointed ballpark authority is accommodated in the lease. The authority would receive a rent-free suite, complete with parking passes and 16 complimentary tickets for all home games. Even to them, though, postseason and All-Star game tickets would come at a price.
The $522 million, open-air ballpark is being paid for mostly through a Hennepin County sales tax that took effect in January. The Twins are on the hook for $130 million.
Under the agreement, the Twins can leverage future revenue toward a loan that will help them bundle the upfront contribution. It's done through a process called a leasehold mortgage.
The lease is among a series of final agreements project supervisors have been working to put in place. Once they are, significant construction can begin this summer.
"It's a huge step," Kenney said. "We've got the roadmap for building the ballpark and we've got the team committed for 30 years to playing in the ballpark. These are critical elements."
-------
The Metrodome replaced Met Stadium, which used to be in Bloomington. The Mall of America now stands in that site.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
