The Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) met a deadline for submitting a ballpark-financing plan to Mecklenburg County, meeting a key deadline for a new Uptown ballpark.
As part of the agreement with Mecklenburg County for land and $8 million in infrastructure improvements. the Knights needed to submit a financing plan for a new ballpark by July 1. And a submission was made. Nothing too radical: we already know about the naming-rights deal with BB&T and a sponsorship with Piedmont Gas, along with information on negotiations for two more prime sponsors. New: a loan commitment letter for $45 million and a commitment from Knights owner Don Beaver for $15 million. You can read a summary of the funding sources here: http://bit.ly/N8eJTx.
Assuming the county accepts the information — and we have no reason to assume they won’t — work will proceed on the ballpark. Tonight the county commissioners will discuss the funding plan. If the approve, we could see a fall groundbreaking and a 2014 opening.
Rendering courtesy of the Charlotte Knights.
RELATED STORIES: Next up for Charlotte Knights: a ballpark financing plan; Charlotte approves $8 million for new Knights ballpark; Reese to try once again to torpedo new Charlotte ballpark; Majority of Charlotte council members supports Knights ballpark funding; Knights notch another major sponsor; Knights sign BB&T for new-ballpark naming rights; City OK’s Knights funding request, at lower level; Charlotte outlines ballpark funding plan; Knights: We’ve met big condition for new ballpark; Reese returns with another anti-Knights lawsuit; Economics of new Charlotte ballpark iffy: Mayor; Economic of new Charlotte ballpark questioned; Knights make economic case for city funding of new ballpark; Charlotte may help fund new Knights ballpark; More legal silliness in Charlotte; Back from the dead! Mecklenburg Co. moves forward with Knights ballpark; Rising from the ashes: A new Knights ballpark
—-
Share your news with the baseball community. Send it to us at editors@augustpublications.com.
Are you a subscriber to the weekly Ballpark Digest newsletter? You can sign up for a free subscription at the Newsletter Signup Page.
Join Ballpark Digest on Facebook and on Twitter!
Follow Ballpark Digest on Google + and add us to your circles!