The team would be required to give the state half of the cost -- $165 million -- and to contribute $10 million per year. Interest earned on the Twins' gift payment, plus the $10 million the team would contribute each year, would be used to pay the interest and principal payments over a 30-year period.
Ventura says he will not support a bill that raises an existing state tax or creates a new state tax to pay for a baseball stadium.
The state would sell bonds to pay for the design and construction of a baseball stadium. The team's gift to the state would be invested in an interest-bearing fund, along with the team's $10 million annual payments. Interest earnings from the gift fund, which would earn a few percentage points more than is paid on the bonds, would be used to pay off the loan.
"I believe that this is a simple and safe way to use the state's ability to obtain low-interest debt, but still maintain an arms-length from what is for the most part a private business deal," Ventura says.
Both houses of the Legislature are working on plans that would provide local and state tax revenue to help pay for a stadium. Ventura's plan includes no such provision for a tax contribution.
In prepared remarks, Ventura says the stadium fight is "the least important of the important issues we face." He encouraged legislators, who hope to finish their work within a few weeks, to focus their efforts on finding a long-term solution to the state's budget problems.
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