“Wait till next year” is a common refrain for disappointed baseball fans, but it typically doesn’t come midway through the season.
But that’s the message a key lawmaker in the Minnesota Senate is sending midway through the legislative session to Twins officials and Hennepin County leaders who are pushing the Legislature to extend the sales tax that pays for Target Field’s construction debt.
County officials want to continue collecting the 0.15% tax, which raises about $55 million a year, after the debt is repaid. Most of the future revenue would pay for health care access, operations and facilities.
Under the proposal, the Minnesota Ballpark Authority that oversees Target Field would get about $10 million a year for upkeep and the Twins would extend their lease until at least 2059. The team’s rent would climb to $4.5 million annually and that money also would be set aside for future stadium improvements.
But Sen. Ann Rest, a DFLer from New Hopec who chairs the Senate Taxes Committee, said in a statement Tuesday morning she would prefer the team and the county pause those conversations with lawmakers. Instead, Rest wants to focus on another bill with bipartisan support that could increase federal Medicaid funding to all Minnesota hospitals.
Rest’s statement said she appreciates the work local leaders have put in so far, and “I hope they will continue to pursue a proposal for the Legislature in 2026.”
Extending the ballpark tax would benefit HCMC and North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, which would split about $40 million a year in future sales tax revenue. The money would help the two safety net hospitals pay for upgraded facilities and care for patients without insurance.
In January, the Hennepin County Board approved a $1.7 million contract with Cannon Design to flesh out a 10-year construction plan for HCMC that will cost taxpayers as much as $2.5 billion. County leaders hoped to use the repurposed ballpark tax to pay for some of those costs.
