> But in 2024, the heirs of the late financier Carl Pohlad faced a reckoning: The team’s nine-figure debt was growing as revenues from ticket sales and game broadcasts dwindled. The debt, now equal to $500 million, is about a third of the team’s entire market value.

> “That was really the driver,” Joe Pohlad, the Twins executive chair, said in a recent interview, revealing a debt amount well above any previously reported estimate.

> In an interview, Tom and Joe Pohlad refuted accusations the family used the Twins as a cash machine by making trades and payroll cuts. It’s quite the opposite, they said. The brothers expressed a hunger to bring another World Series title to Minnesota. The Twins’ half-billion-dollar debt, they said, was the result of their sustained investments in the team and Target Field.

> “I think there’s an idea that we take money out of the team,” Joe Pohlad said. “And we’ve never taken any money out of the team. The effort has always been to have the business sustain itself in order to win.”

> Tom Pohlad pointed to what he said is an unfavorable economic model for small- and middle-market MLB teams like the Twins. In such markets, revenues “don’t necessarily support” amenities like a first-class ballpark at Target Field or consistently putting a high-performing team together.

> He said the family has repeatedly chosen to invest beyond what the Twins’ revenues can support in an effort to field a competitive team.

> “The fans are totally justified to think it’s unacceptable. You want to question the wisdom of our investment? Great. But don’t question [our] commitment to investing in the Twins.”

Why the Pohlad family decided to keep the Minnesota Twins. It all came down to the $500 million in debt. “Don’t question [our] commitment to investing in the Twins.”