MINNESOTA TWINS, N.C. MAY PART WAYS\ THE MINNESOTA TWINS MAY RETURN TO THEIR DUGOUT IN MINNEAPOLIS, AT LEAST FOR TWO MORE YEARS.

The commission that operates the Twins' ballpark in Minneapolis is scheduled today to consider a new lease that would keep the Twins in Minnesota for at least two more years. That will give enough time for team owner Carl Pohlad either to find a new local owner or work out a deal for a new stadium. Twins officials have said they'll sign the agreement.That agreement, hammered out over the last few weeks, would end more than a year of negotiations between Pohlad and Hickory businessman Don Beaver, who led an ownership group trying to bring a team to North Carolina.

Pohlad and Beaver struck an agreement in October for Beaver to buy the team. Beaver's original plan was for the team to play in Fort Mill, S.C., for two years in an expanded minor-league stadium while a new stadium was built between Greensboro and Winston-Salem. That idea fell through last May after voters overwhelmingly rejected a tax on prepared foods to help construct the stadium.

Beaver has since been working with Charlotte business leaders to develop a way to finance a team and new downtown stadium without increasing taxes. Several Charlotte executives traveled to Minneapolis as recently as last week to meet with Pohlad.

Beaver and Charlotte officials on Thursday were putting a positive spin on the Twins' decision to remain in Minnesota.

``We certainly are not out of the market,' Beaver said.

``The Charlotte baseball effort is alive and well,' said Carroll Gray, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. ``We are convinced that Charlotte is a Major League Baseball market, if not now, then soon.'

News of the Twins' decision to remain in Minnesota came as little surprise to Triad residents who opposed the May stadium referendum. During the campaign preceding the vote, opponents said the Twins were playing the Triad off against Minnesota.

``It's frustrating to think we went through this exercise thinking we had an opportunity' for a team, said Greg Fischer, who helped organize the group Citizens Against Unfair Taxes. ``It was all for naught for both sides.'

Although Beaver and Pohlad had a tentative agreement, it was never signed, despite numerous attempts by Beaver to conclude the deal before the May referendum. The unwillingness by Pohlad to finalize the agreement led many observers to speculate that he did not want to move the team.

The Twins' decision to stay put is a setback for Charlotte now, but it actually could help the city's chances of eventually drawing a pro baseball team to the city.

Several Charlotte business leaders, including NationsBank chairman Hugh McColl, have said previously that the city would have a hard time trying to assimilate major-league baseball into its sports portfolio. Corporate and public support is already stretched thin between the NFL's Carolina Panthers and NBA's Charlotte Hornets. Some Charlotte officials have said the city would not be ready to invest in a baseball team for several more years.

Charlotte now has the time it needs to find a stadium site and the necessary financing.

``We'd be willing to sit here and wait as long as necessary,' Gray said. ``We're watchfully waiting and still remain very positive about our market.'

Charlotte still could ultimately end up with the Twins. The new arrangement worked out between the team and its stadium landlord is a short-term fix - it does not address how to build a new stadium the Twins want. If a new deal or new ownership is not in place by 2000, the Twins could again be in play for a new home.

Charlotte may have other opportunities for a Major League Baseball team. Both the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres want new stadiums, and the Expos have said they'd consider relocation if they don't get one. The team plans to say by September whether it will move after the 2000 season.

And Charlotte could land a new team when Major League Baseball decides to expand its ranks. However, that could be at least five years away.