|  |  | Time to Huddle: CEO's Column
9/6/2005 2:00 AMBy Margaret S. Carlson, Ph.D. '83
In early August, a thousand “close personal friends” gathered in the Twin Cities to salute local sports columnist Sid Hartman. Sports notables from across the country-including Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, former Vikings coach Bud Grant, retired college football coach Lou Holtz, men's college basketball coach Bobby Knight, and New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner-came together to applaud Sid's 50 years as an on-air personality at WCCO Radio and 60 years covering sports at the University of Minnesota. When the party was over, more than $400,000 had been raised for athletics scholarships at the U. It was a glorious evening for the Golden Gophers (and for Sid, of course). Only one thing would have made it perfect.
The topic that was on many people's minds: whether the governor would call a special legislative session this fall to pass funding for an on-campus Gopher football stadium. Speculation about the state legislature bubbled to the surface of numerous conversations throughout the evening. And it's the most frequently asked question I've fielded in my travels around the state in recent weeks.
Make no mistake: The University fared very well during this year's legislative session, with $111 million in bonding for building construction and renovation projects and $106 million in new state funding. The University community is thankful for the legislature's strong support of its mission. But an urgent piece of business-key to our vision to improve the collegiate experience at the University-was left undone.
Gopher sports fans and University supporters held their collective breath over stadium funding through this year's regular legislative session-and then into the special session. Despite broad bipartisan support for a Gopher stadium, however, getting the deal done fell victim to the need to reach agreement on the state's biennial budget. We may have had the wind knocked out of us, but we are not giving up.
The Gopher stadium deal is at a critical point, and now is the time to make it happen. The University is committed to raising its 60 percent share of the stadium costs, primarily through private funds. But as long as the proposed stadium partnership with the state remains in limbo, momentum and money are at stake. TCF Bank has pledged $35 million for naming rights for the stadium, but its sponsorship is contingent upon the state pledging 40 percent of the stadium funding by December 31, 2005. And several other major donors and corporate sponsors have agreed to pledge money for a Gopher stadium as soon as the legislature does its part. The truth is, they won't wait forever; those private dollars may go elsewhere. And if the state puts off passing the stadium bill, the stadium pricetag will increase between $12 million to $18 million a year.
The University has formed an all-star team to pick up the ball and run with it-to take the momentum that has been building over the past few months and work like crazy to bring Gopher football home. All we need is the legislature to give the go-ahead.
At the reception for Sid Hartman, I sought out Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson and asked him to prognosticate about whether our two-year effort to bring the football Gophers back to campus was in jeopardy. He said that unless Governor Tim Pawlenty (B.A. '83, J.D. '86) and legislative leaders have firm agreement on a limited number issues to be dealt with in another special session, as well as confidence in their outcomes, the political stakes of calling a third session in 2005 would be too high. My question was, what can the alumni association do to help lower the stakes and to get our elected officials to act on their bipartisan support for a Gopher stadium? The answer: Encourage alumni and friends of the University to call our state's political leaders.
Since then, we've received some positive signals from our legislative leaders. Let's give them the support they need to get this legislation passed.
Even if you have never called a political official, even if your calendar is full to overflowing, we really do need Minnesotans who are reading this column to make three phone calls: one to the governor, one to your state representative, and one to your state senator. If you live outside the state and care about the stadium, pass this column along to a friend or relative in Minnesota and ask him or her to make the calls. Your message doesn't have to be complex; a few pointed and heartfelt sentences will do. Ask the governor to call a special session this fall. Ask your legislators to pledge their financial support for the Gopher stadium.
If this magazine, which went to the printer in mid-August, arrives in your hands after a special session has been announced, your calls are just as important. Urge passage of the Gopher stadium bill. And if, by the time you read this, our dream has come true and the stadium bill has been signed, call your elected officials with your thanks.
Call Governor Pawlenty at 651-296-3391 or 800-657-3717. To find the numbers for your representative and senator, call 651-296-2146 or 800-657-3550. Or visit www.umn.edu/stadium.
I look forward to the day when we cheer the Gophers on to victory in a football stadium that brings alumni, students, and all fans back together on the University's beautiful Twin Cities campus. Let's do what we can to make that happen.
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