This could all be from negative media spin, but something tells me that this bears closer watching. There may be a lot of people with egg on their faces come the end of the first quarter of '07. - Transic

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Stadium site owners put squeeze on Twins

A breakdown in negotiations over the price for the key parcel of land poses a threat to the entire project, a county commissioner and team official warn.

By Sid Hartman, Star Tribune
Last update: December 31, 2006 – 12:19 AM

Visiting with Mike Opat, a Hennepin County commissioner who played a big part in getting the vote for the new Twins ballpark, and Jerry Bell, the team's stadium point man, you get the scary impression that the ballpark might not be built if the purchase price for the land can't be worked out.

Negotiations for the land purchase are not going well.

Opat and Bell agree: If the land for the stadium has to be condemned, the lengthy court proceedings could delay construction, increasing costs so that building it would become prohibitive.

"We're trying to negotiate with the owners and not have to condemn it," Opat said. "And in that way, we get control of the land faster and hopefully we can avoid being in court with them.

"That could be a long deal and we have to weigh whether or not we would even go into condemnation, because if it comes out and the price of the land is too high, we wouldn't be able to afford the infrastructure, the bridges and the stuff that we need to do."

He added ominously: "The biggest thing that I worry about right now is, are we going to be able to buy this land and afford the project? If they want to hold us hostage, then we probably don't have a project. If they think that we're going to pay any price, they're wrong, and we'll face a decision whether or not to even do the project."

There is $90 million set aside for the stadium site land acquisition, pollution cleanup and other infrastructure.

Owners wanted ballpark

The owners of the land marketed their site as being right for a ballpark. After being champions of the site, they now could kill the project by seeking big money.

Opat said a decision on condemnation will be made sometime next month. The county filed a condemnation notice in November, a formality allowing the county to use condemnation as a backup plan if talks fail.

"We need to decide by January whether or not we will go through with condemnation," he said. "If we can't, if we can't get some assurances that they're going to negotiate with us, then we're going to have some tough days."

Hennepin County, Bell added, is making progress on buying smaller pieces of land at the site. But the biggest parcel, one owned by a limited partnership involving entrepreneur Bruce Lambrecht, is the sticking point, Bell said. "They're being stubborn -- they're getting greedy is what they are," Bell said. "They know they've got us over a barrel."

So it is no cinch the Twins ballpark will be built, if the landowners run the price up too high.