Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College and the author of a book called Baseball and Billions, comments on local stadium actions. Fifty St. Paul business owners started a campaign against a proposed food, beverage, and lodging tax to fund a Twins stadium, while Minnesota House approved a bill for a $330 million open-air stadium that allows the host city to levy the tax to help repay bonds.

Mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul want to convince the Twins to build the proposed stadium in their respective cities. Residents of both cities would have to approve a referendum before taxes are enacted. Zimbalist says the emerging competition between Minneapolis and St. Paul is just a microcosm of what happens on the national level.