House wants truce between Target and Xcel centers
The Minneapolis Target Center and the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center would have to strike a truce in their long-running bidding war under a provision that passed the Minnesota House yesterday.
As part of the House tax bill, the two arenas would be required to establish a "joint governing structure" for marketing, promotion and scheduling starting in 2015.
Both cities say competition has driven down the rents they can charge concert promoters at the publicly owned facilities, both of which lose money even though each is home to a professional sports team.
The bill also calls for the arenas to examine whether they should join forces with the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which will oversee the new Vikings stadium.
The Senate version of the legislation has made it through committee, but has not been incorporated into a larger tax bill.
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