MINNEAPOLIS (ap) - A dispute over the price of the planned site for a new Minnesota Twins stadium has left it unclear whether construction can begin next month and whether the ballpark will be ready for the 2010 season.
Hennepin County's top negotiators said Thursday they may need to find another location, and the county board postponed six major votes it had scheduled for Feb. 27 related to the $522 million stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
The move drew a mixed reaction from the Twins. Team officials were debating whether to proceed on their own, without the county, on a public unveiling of the stadium design next week.
"I don't think we'd ever rule anything out," said Twins President Dave St. Peter, referring to the possibility of finding another site.
Some viewed Thursday's developments as a negotiating tactic. Most of the 10-acre parcel near Target Center is owned by a limited liability partnership of more than 100 private investors, Land Partners II. The county's lead negotiator, Commissioner Mike Opat, said there have been no negotiations for several weeks, and none are scheduled.
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"There's a lot of brinksmanship going on here," Commissioner Peter McLaughlin said.
County officials have had the property appraised at $13.35 million, while the landowners have said it's worth much more.
The Legislature has capped the stadium's infrastructure costs at $90 million, including the land purchase, so county officials say paying too much for the land would jeopardize needed road, transit and pedestrian improvements around the stadium.
Finding another site would force the county and the Twins to return to the Legislature, where approval last year was conditioned on the stadium being built on the site near Target Center. Rep. Brad Finstad, R-New Ulm, the chief House author of the stadium bill, said he would "have a hard time seeing any appetite for this again."
But Hennepin County Board Chairman Randy Johnson said other downtown, and even suburban, locations could be considered.
"This is a serious development," Johnson said.
Rick Johnson, the county's ballpark project coordinator, said switching to another site, even this late in the game, would "not necessarily" blow a 2010 stadium opening because a new location might mean fewer complications.
The county has begun condemnation proceedings of the preferred site, but county officials fear that process would take too long and run the risk of a judge ruling that the property is worth more than the county has available.
