Top Menu

Blue Wahoos rework lease for new Pensacola ballpark

Southern LeagueThe Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Class AA; Southern League) will be paying more for a new ballpark that meets Class AA standards, as the $13 million ballpark will be ready for a March opening.

Quint and Rishy Studer had an agreement for a new waterfront ballpark as owners of the Pensacola Pelicans (independent; American Association), but after buying the Carolina Mudcats (Class AA; Southern League) in anticipation of a 2012 move, upgrades to the ballpark were required to meet affiliated standards. The budget for the project didn’t change — the entirety of Maritime Park, a new waterfront complex in Pensacola, is $54 million, with $13 million earmarked toward the ballpark — but the economics did, as did the ballpark size (from 4,000 seats to 5,225).

The Studers and Community Maritime Park Associates came to a new agreement this past week. Basically, the team will end up covering the costs of the ballpark in a variety of ways via a 20-year lease (one ten-year term, two five-year options, which is amazingly liberal): $175,000 annually in rent, a split of naming-rights revenues, all parking revenue to the city, a ticket surcharge, an attendance fee based on attendance goals and a guaranteed $1.25 million from team profits. in addition, the Studers contributed $2 million in February to help pay for affiliated-oriented upgrades.

The ballpark is expected to be completed by Jan. 31 with the team taking control March 1, giving the team plenty of time for a practice game or two before an April season opener.

RELATED STORIES: Blue Wahoos hit milestone: 1,000 season-tickets sold; New for 2012: Pensacola Blue Wahoos; Blue Wahoos or Redbones? Finalists announced for new Pensacola team name; New Pensacola team already has 500 season tickets in the bank; Pensacola gets early jump on ticket sales, discusses ballpark size; Carolina to Pensacola, Kinston to Zebulon in 2012

—-

Share your news with the baseball community. Send it to us at editors@augustpublications.com.

Subscribers to the weekly Ballpark Digest newsletter see features before they’re posted to the site. You can sign up for a free subscription at the Newsletter Signup Page.

Join Ballpark Digest on Facebook and on Twitter!

, , , , , , , , ,