Terry DeRoche and Tony Pettit, the pair seeking to build a new ballpark for a Northern League team in Burnsville, Minn., are millions of dollars in debt after numerous tax delinquencies, failed business ventures and houses in foreclosure, raising the issue about their ability to raise $30 million for the facility.
Terry DeRoche and Tony Pettit, the pair seeking to build a new ballpark for a Northern League team in Burnsville, Minn., are millions of dollars in debt after numerous tax delinquencies, failed business ventures and houses in foreclosure, raising the issue about their ability to raise $30 million for the facility.
While the deal appears to be dead for now — the owners of the proposed ballpark site say they’ve not been contacted about a land sale for several months, and city officials don’t foresee any proposal coming their way any time soon — the financial situatioin of the pair, as outlined in court documents, makes it clear they would face a huge challenge in raising any sort of money, much less one for as speculative a venture as a privately financed ballpark.
But, as we reported last month, DeRoche is indeed withdrawing from the project, which could change the outlook for the project.
DeRoche said his problems are largely tied to the collapse of a plan to run a casino and build three hotels in Cripple Creek, Colo., in the 1990s. That $25 million proposal led to several lawsuits against DeRoche and his partners.
Tony Pettit of Burnsville, the other co-owner and developer, has two houses in foreclosure in Dakota County, with three mortgages taken out for more than $1.1 million. He also was sued Nov. 20 for $108,000 over a delinquent home-equity credit line.
RELATED STORIES: Proposed Burnsville ballpark on life support; Northern League schedule released; no Burnsville team
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