FUNDING INFORMATION BRANDON YOPP
TABLE OF CONTENTS Pg. 2... STADIUM INTRODUCTION Pg. 3... COST Pg. 4... HENNEPIN COUNTY DEBT Pg. 5... MINNESOTA TWINS DEBT Pg. 6... BUDGET Pg. 7... HENNEPIN COUNTY & MINNESOTA TWINS REVENUE
STADIUM INTRODUCTION Based in Minneapolis, Minn., the Minnesota Twins are a major league baseball team that competes in the Central Division of the America League. The club originally began as the Washington Senators in Washington, D.C., eventually moving in time for the 1961 season after club president Calvin Griffith made the decision to move the franchise. The team was named the Twins in honor of the Minneapolis / St. Paul twin cities area. 1 Since moving to Minneapolis the Twins have enjoyed two home ball parks - Metropolitan Stadium (1961-81) and the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982-pres.). The club will embark on a new era in its history with the beginning of the 2010 MLB season as it moves into Target Field. The first steps towards the beginning of Target Field began Nov. 4, 2003 when Minn. Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that he was heading up efforts to find options for a new Twins home stadium. 2 On April 25 2005 the Twins and Hennepin County officially announced an agreement to fund and construct a new stadium in the downtown Minneapolis area. 3 Construction of the ballpark carries an estimated $535 million price tag, with $185 million coming from the Twins and its owners and $350 from Hennepin County. 4 The Minnesota Ballpark Authority (MBA) - created by the state to oversee the construction and operations of the stadium - is made up of five members, one appointed by the city of Minneapolis, two appointed by Hennepin County and two appointed by the governor. The Twins inked a 30-year lease of the facility with the MBA in the summer of 2007. HOK Sport of Kansas City, Miss. and HGA of Minneapolis, Minn. will both serve as architects. 5 The Twins held an official ground breaking ceremony on its new stadium on Aug. 30, 2007. 6 On Sept. 15 2008 the Twins and Target Corporation announced a 25-year deal to name the new stadium Target Field. Financial terms of the agreement have never been disclosed, but the deal is speculated to be around $4-6 million annually. Target will also work with the Twins on the construction of Target Plaza - a public space and walking bridge that connects the ballpark to downtown Minneapolis as well as the Target Center. 7 The Target Center serves as the home of the Minnesota Timberwovles of the NBA, as well as the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Target Field will boast a seating capacity of 42,000. A high definition scoreboard in left-center field will measure 107x57 feet. 8 SOURCES 1 - http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/history/timeline1.jsp 2 - http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20031104&content_id=599003&vkey=ballpark_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min 3 - http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050425&content_id=1028207&vkey=ballpark_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min 4 - http://www.ballparkauthority.org/index.asp?type=b_list&sec={aa088a7a-5aba-494a-9aae-02e77132ea59}#{b7353717-875a-453a- AE2F-7082B971F532} 5 - http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/new_faq.jsp 6 - http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/ballpark/new_ballpark_groundbreaking.jsp 7 - http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2466:twins-reach-25-year-naming-rights-deal-new-ballpark-to-be-named-qtarget-fieldq&catid=41:facility-news&itemid=56 8 - http://www.projectballpark.org/future/twins.html
COST Funding for the stadium is being shared by the Minnesota Twins and the Pohland family (owners), as well as Hennepin County. Construction costs were slated at $535 million, with $350 coming from Hennepin County and the remainder from the Twins/Pohland family. 4 FUNDING BREAKDOWN: $350,000,000 - Hennepin County + $185,000,000 - Minnesota Twins/Pohland Family $535,000,000 - total construction cost In order to assist its share of construction funding Hennepin County passed a 0.15% sales tax increase, effective Jan. 1, 2007. The Hennepin County Board also approved the sale of $350 million in sales tax revenue bonds to assist with funding, with an initial slate of $150 million set for mid-may 2008. 9 LAND PURCHASE 10 $13,750,000 - Hennepin County $13,750,000 - total cost of land Hennepin County paid the $13.75 million purchase of land from Land Partners II in May 2007. SOURCES 4 - http://www.ballparkauthority.org/index.asp?type=b_list&sec={aa088a7a-5aba-494a-9aae-02e77132ea59}#{b7353717-875a-453a- AE2F-7082B971F532} 9 - http://www.co.hennepin.mn.us/portal/site/hcinternet/menuitem.3f94db53874f9b6f68ce1e10b1466498/?vgnextoid=d20c21e0d0f22110vgnvcm1000000f094689rcrd 10 - http://www.projectballpark.org/future/twins.html
HENNEPIN COUNTY DEBT Listed below is a payment schedule for Hennepin County on a 30-year loan of $350,000,000. The interest rate is calculated at 0.06%, with yearly payments of $25,752,864.73.
MINNESOTA TWINS DEBT Listed below is a payment schedule for the Minnesota Twins on a 30-year loan of $185,000,000. The interest rate is calculated at 0.06%, with yearly payments of $13,612,228.50.
BUDGET 11 The above budget for the facility shows that $545 million is needed for construction costs and that funding is already in place for 64% of the project. SOURCES 11 - http://www.ballparkauthority.org/index.asp?type=b_basic&sec={2f7301da-8139-4682-8c09-fdb09a43e754}
HENNEPIN COUNTY REVENUE Page 52 of the 2009 Hennepin County Budget lists a projected county revenue of $558,561,301. With the 0.15% sales tax increase, Hennepin County is also projecting $28,078.529 from ballpark sales tax revenue. 12 Page 441 of the same budget lays out the ballpark sales tax revenue program. The funds in the program pay the interest and annual principal on the county s sales tax revenue bonds for Target Field, as well as administrative costs of the MBA and area library and youth athletics programs. The sales tax is collected on all taxable goods and services and is then distributed by the Minnesota Department of Revenue to the bond trustee who makes the payments. 12 The chart below is from the 2009 Hennepin County Budget. 12 MINNESOTA TWINS REVENUE In 2007 it was estimated that the Minnesota Twins was valued at $288 million, and that its owner Carl Pohlad was worth $2.6 billion. The Twins organization enjoyed a $131 million revenue in 2007, while paying $14.8 million in operating expenses and $76 million in player salaries and expenses. Additionally the Twins made $37 million off of ticket and gate reciepts. 12 Target Field will feature 60 luxury suites and 4,000 club seats that will allow the club to explore new revenue streams. Neither of those were available at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. 13 SOURCES 12 - http://hennepin.us/images/hcinternet/ycg/about Hennepin/Financial Information/2009 Budget APPROVED/2009 Operating Budget Book. pdf 13 - http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/33/07mlb_minnesota-twins_330400.html