Twins Look to Escape Stadium Lease

The fight in Minnesota over the Twins and a stadium continues.

The Minnesota Twins sued their Metrodome landlord Tuesday, asking a judge to rule that the team is under no long-term obligation to play baseball in the stadium.

Twins attorney Roger Magnuson said the lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court shouldn't be viewed as a first step in an attempt to move the team. For more than a decade, the team has been pursuing public money toward a new ballpark without success.

"That's not the purpose of the filing,'' Magnuson said. "Obviously, the hard reality is we have no obligation to play in the Metrodome next year.''

"It's not a threat at all,'' he added.

("Twins look to get out of Metrodome deal," Star Tribune, 10/18/2005). Hmm...if this is not a threat, then what exactly is it? Assuming the Twins are rational (a big assumption, I know), they are not going to spend money on pointless litigation that will accomplish no goal. It seems clear that the team simply wants more leverage in the forever-ongoing negotiations with city and state officials. And since the team has long-since lost the PR battle, why not file a lawsuit?

According to the article, the most recent lease agreement expired in 2003 and talks have stalled as the team seeks public money for a new stadium. There have been threats to move the Twins for ten years.

Hat tip to reader Jason Wolf, who resides somewhere much warmer than Minnesota.

Posted in: