St. Paul Saints pledges another million for ballpark

The minor league St. Paul Saints baseball team has pledged an additional million dollars to help fill the funding gap for its new ballpark.

That brings the team's contribution to a total of $11 million dollars. But the city of St. Paul still needs to find another $8 million dollars to pay for the $63 million dollar project.

St. Paul Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hahm said the new money from the Saints is a step in the right direction.

"We've asked them to step up to the project as a partner. They have done that, and their contribution to this is a big part of what's going to make this project a success financially," Hahm said.

The city revealed the funding gap last month. Soil tests uncovered far more pollution on the site than St. Paul expected. The city also underestimated how much the ballpark would cost to build.

The site is currently home to an abandoned factory. In spite of the shortfall, the city will begin demolishing the building Saturday.

The state of Minnesota has already committed $25 million dollars to the project.

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