Here’s someone pitching for the St. Paul Saints besides Mudonna: St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has sent a letter to DEED Commissionr Mark Phillips and Gov. Mark Dayton asking for $27 million:
Letter from Mayor Coleman to Commissioner Phillips
It’s not a personal loan he’s looking for. The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has almost $50 million to spare for economic development projects, and Coleman is hoping to tap those funds and build a new regional ballpark in Lowertown. The site would house the St. Paul Saints and amateur and high school ball teams, replacing quaint-but-dated Midway Stadium.
Coleman calls the project “shovel-ready” and notes it will create 500 full and part-time jobs. The ballpark is also projected to bring 400,000 visitors per year downtown.
St. Paul City Council President Kathy Lantry and others have noted that there will be strong competition for those dollars. Mankato wants to expand its civic center, for instance, and the Saints and Mankato are not the only ones who got shut out of major funding from recent state bonding legislation.