ST. PAUL, Posted 10:03 a.m. July 08, 1998 -- For those of you who'd hoped a wooden stake had been driven through the heart of the stadium debate, you forgot the cloves of garlic and may want to think of buying a shiny, silver cross ...

Lame duck Gov. Arne Carlson -- with less than six months to go before the moving van stops in front of the governor's mansion -- hasn't yet closed the lid on the baseball stadium coffin.

The Associated Press tells us that Carlson plans to appoint a group to examine the stadium needs of collegiate and professional sports teams based here in the Twin Cities.

Carlson, apparently, is even going further with the debate that's been as contentious as barroom discussions about the greatest baseball player ever: He wants the University of Minnesota football team to move back onto campus.

The Golden Gophers have played their home games in the Metrodome, just off the 'U' campus, since it opened in 1982.

The former, outdoor, home of the team was Memorial Stadium on University Avenue. It was torn down years ago and replaced with an aquatics center, among other buildings.

The WPA-era brick stadium stood across University Avenue from Williams Arena.