Last reviewed August 2009
Resources on Minnesota Issues
Target Center Arena and the Minnesota Timberwolves
This guide is compiled by staff at the Minnesota Legislative Reference
Library on a topic of interest to Minnesota legislators. It is designed
to provide an introduction to the topic, directing the user to a variety
of sources, and is not intended to be exhaustive. In particular, it
is focused on items available in the Legislative Reference Library.
In 1987, the city of Minneapolis was awarded a National Basketball
Association franchise. Later that year the franchise owners, Minnesota
businessmen Harvey Ratner and Marvin Wolfenson, received permission
to build an arena in downtown Minneapolis. The home of the Minnesota
Timberwolves, the Target Center,
opened in October 1990.
By 1992, facing financial problems, Ratner and Wolfenson were calling
for a public buyout of the Target Center. Thus began a complex series
of negotiations that culminated in 1994 with the Minnesota Legislature's
approval of a public purchase of the arena, and the sale of the
Timberwolves to Glen Taylor.
A brief history of the Target Center and the Minnesota Timberwolves:
1987 April: The NBA awards a franchise to Minneapolis. The owners
are Harvey Ratner and Marvin Wolfenson. The Minnesota Timberwolves will
join the NBA in the 1989-90 season.
1987 July: The Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities approves a
$54 million professional basketball arena for downtown Minneapolis by
an 8-7 vote, to be financed and owned by Ratner and Wolfenson.
1990 August: A corporate sponsor is found and the arena is named the
Target Center.
1990 October: The Target Center opens at a cost of $104 million, plus
$23 million in public subsidies from the city of Minneapolis. The first
sporting event is the Timberwolves' 1990-91 season opener against Dallas
on November 2nd.
1992-1993: Target Center owners Ratner and Wolfenson discuss a public
purchase of the arena with the city of Minneapolis and the Metropolitan
Sports Facilities Commission (MSFC). The possible sale of the Timberwolves
to out-of-state investors intensifies the issue.
1994 January: Reports surface that Wolfenson and Ratner are considering
moving the team to San Diego or Nashville. Thirty-five Twin Cities business
leaders form a task force and pledge $5000 each to study the economic
impact of the Target Center and, if justified, support a public purchase
of the arena. The report released February 17th stated that the annual
benefit of the arena and Timberwolves is $57.5 million, but that the
prestige and other intangibles were worth much more.
1994 February: A group led by William Sexton, a Minnesota insurance
executive, becomes a serious bidder for the Timberwolves.
1994 March: The Minneapolis City Council recommends that the Minnesota
Legislature pass a law permitting the MSFC to purchase the Target Center.
A bill is introduced by Rep. Richard Jefferson.
1994 May: Legislation for the public purchase of the Target Center,
contingent on the team being sold to a local ownership group, passes
and is signed by Gov. Arne Carlson on May 10th. (Laws of Minnesota
1994,
chapter 648).
1994 May: Ratner and Wolfenson sell the Timberwolves to Top Rank of
Louisiana for $152.5 million.
1994 June: An NBA panel disallows the sale of the Timberwolves to
Top Rank.
1994 July: Sexton's offer of $85 million is turned down by Wolfenson
and Ratner.
1994 August: Mankato businessman and former State Senator Glen Taylor
buys the Timberwolves for $88.5 million.
1994 October: The NBA Board of Governors approves the Timberwolves
sale to Taylor.
1994 December: The IRS publishes regulations suggesting that bonds
serviced through ticket surcharges cannot be tax exempt, jeopardizing
the Target buyout deal and sale of the team to Taylor.
1995 February: The Minneapolis City Council gives preliminary approval
to a revised financing plan which includes $12.7 million in commitments
to buy private bonds from the business community.
1995 March: Final approval of the Target Center financing plan is
given by the Minneapolis City Council.
2002 October: The city of Minneapolis announces that the 1995 financing plan
will have to be reexamined. Issues to be addressed include a projected revenue
deficit that will leave the city short of funds needed to pay off the bonds and
questions surrounding the financing of needed capital improvements to the Target Center.
2006 June: The city of Minneapolis agrees to pay up to $1.2 million to cover operating
losses at Target Center during the next year.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
SIGNIFICANT BOOKS AND REPORTS:
Economic Impact Report on Target Center. Minneapolis: Arthur
Andersen & Co., 1994. (GV416.M6 E26 1994)
Hugunin, Marc. Minnesota Hoops: Basketball in the North Star State.
St. Paul : Minnesota Historical Society Press, c2006. (GV885.72.M6 H84 2006)
Knaff, Gene, et al., prepared under the direction of Steve Keefe.
Metropolitan Significance Review Report: Proposed Arena of the NBA
Franchise for Minneapolis. Minneapolis: Metropolitan Council, 1987.
(GV416.M6 M382 1987)
Minnesota Stadium and Arena History.
St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department, 2010. (GV415.M56 2010)
(This chart includes financing details for each major stadium.)
Stadium Financing. Minneapolis: Minnesota Institute of Legal
Education, 1998. (GV415 .S723 1998) (Includes a chapter, "Target
Center I and II," by David W. Kelley and Andrew P. Lee. The terms of
the 1987 and 1995 Target Center financing agreements are outlined.)
SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES:
Alonzo, Rick. "City to Manage Target Center ."
St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 8, 2007.
Belden, Doug. "Target Center Gets 2nd Look as Stadium Bill Takes Shape."
St. Paul Pioneer Press, March 3, 2012.
Brandt, Steve. "$150M Renovation
Unveiled for Target Center."
Star Tribune, February 3, 2011.
Brandt, Steve. "Policy Change
Means Money to Target Center, Minneapolis Neighborhoods."
Star Tribune, December 4, 2009.
Rao, Maya. "Target Center
Deal Bound to a 'Mistake'" Star Tribune, February 2, 2012.
Kahn, Aron. "Dome, Target Center Show Need for Planning: Varied Success
Noted in Minneapolis." Star Tribune, October 10, 1999, p. 1A.
Olson, Rochelle. "Target Center is Under Review: The Arena's Latest
Problems are Rooted in a '95 Financing Deal." Star Tribune,
October 7, 2002, p. 1A.
Sweeney, Patrick. "Target Center Buyout is Game for High Rollers."
St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 28, 1993, p. 1A. (Outlines the pros
and cons of a public purchase of the arena.)
"Target Center Buyout." Session Weekly, May 13, 1994, p. 31-32.
Target Center:
City of Minneapolis Fact Sheet. 2009.
Weiner, Jay. "Adequate or Antiquated? Target Center, Completed in 1990 and
Owned by the City of Minneapolis, Has Been Getting Fixed Up, But it Needs Even More
Improvement." Star Tribune, April 25, 2006, p. C1.
Weiner, Jay and Kevin Diaz. "As of Today, Target Center Financing
is a Done Deal." Star Tribune, March 23, 1995, p. 1A.
Weiner, Jay. "City Set to Cover Target Center Losses." Star Tribune,
June 13, 2006, p. B1.
Weiner, Jay. "
Mayor R.T. Rybak and Minneapolis Are At Center of Any 'Cosmic' Sports Facilities Solution."
MinnPost, February 3, 2011.
Weiner, Jay. "New Player Expected in Arena Wars: A Deal is in the Works For a New Manager for the
Target Center, Which is Constantly Battling the Xcel Energy Center for Business." Star Tribune,
April 9, 2007, p. A1, A4.
Weiner, Jay."
Stadiums and Arenas: Is 'Global Solution' the Answer for Vikes, Wolves, Wild?" MinnPost, February 1, 2011.
Weiner, Jay. "Target Center Adequate But Getting Old." Star Tribune,
October 30, 2006, p. S7.
Weiner, Jay. "Target Center Can't Compete: The Wolve's Home Needs a
Makeover. But Tax Rules Prohibit the Wolves from Paying for it, and the City
Can't Afford to. The Wild Faces No Such Restrictions." Star Tribune,
February 23, 2003, p. 15C.
Weiner, Jay. "
Target Center Renovation: How to Pay for it Remains a Mystery." MinnPost, February 1, 2011.
ADDITIONAL LIBRARY RESOURCES:
Check the following codes in the Newspaper Clipping File and the
Vertical File:
S150 - Stadiums, S148.4 - Sports-Basketball
For additional articles, check the following Inside Issues headings:
Sports Teams/Stadiums