ST. PAUL, Minn. Posted 9:30 a.m. December 10, 1997 -- Former Twins star Kirby Puckett said he is willing to invest up to $10 million in the team if a deal can be worked out to keep it in Minnesota. "I'm not going to North Carolina," Puckett told the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

Twins owner Carl Pohlad has an agreement to sell the team to North Carolina businessman Don Beaver. The Minnesota Legislature failed to approve any plan in last month's special session to build the new stadium Pohlad says the team needs to be profitable.

The possibility that Puckett might buy into the Twins as part of a new ownership group is important because it may make league owners reluctant to approve a Twins move. Baseball officials have said they prefer a legitimate local offer to an out-of-state deal. Puckett refused to comment on an $86 million offer for the Twins made last month by Minneapolis attorney Clark Griffith.

A referendum in the Triad region of Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem on May 5 will determine whether increased local entertainment taxes can be used to pay for a $210 million ballpark.

Twins president Jerry Bell said Tuesday he had completed two days of studying stadium options in the Triad area, which is smaller than Charlotte, and pronounced it "far more viable than I first believed."