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The city of Rochester is moving a step closer to getting a new sports stadium downtown.

The plan is still in its early stages, but the city council this week unanimously approved an exclusive agreement with Wisconsin-based Landmark Development that gives the company six months to decide if it wants to build a sports complex on a piece of city-owned land downtown. 

That site now includes a power plant that’s set to retire before the end of the decade. 

Rochester City Council President Randy Schubring said that as the city grows due to the Destination Medical Center redevelopment plan and a major expansion of Mayo Clinic’s campus, city officials are getting heightened interest from developers of all types. But he said Landmark is the first to inquire about the power plant site. 

“I look at it from the standpoint of we have a lot of interest coming into Rochester from whether it's national housing developers or this developer saying, you know, we see Rochester as a city in the future,” he said.

If the facility moves forward, it could be home to the 

, an amateur baseball team that’s composed of elite college players during the summer. The team ended its contact to play at Mayo Field after this season. 

The complex could also include housing, space for a soccer team and a hockey rink. 

“There's a lot of work that Landmark has to do, as far as looking at the property, the potential of the property, the environmental status of the property,” said Schubring. “It was a good time for us to give them a six-month exclusive negotiation."

No city money has so far been committed to the project, but that could change if the project moves forward. Schubring said that the exclusive agreement could be extended, too, at the end of six months. 

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Catharine Richert

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Rochester’s city council unanimously approved an exclusive agreement with Wisconsin-based Landmark Development. It gives the company six months to decide if it wants to build a facility on a piece of city-owned land downtown. 

Deal with developer could lead to new sports stadium in Rochester

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