Clark County Commissioners will once again discuss the issue of a 5 percent amusement tax to fund a new Vancouver (Wash.) ballpark for the relocating Yakima Bears (short season A; Northwest League).
The hearing is set for Nov. 29.
There’s a race of sorts for a Minor League Baseball team to set up operations in the greater Portland (Ore.) area, considered to be the top open market in baseball. The Bears had a leg up after receiving permission from the N.A. to work out a ballpark plan, which ended up being a $22.7-million, 3,500-seat facility on the Clark County campus. But Yakima’s exclusive rights to the market expired, and a competing plan from Milwaukie officials emerged: a 4,000-seat ballpark to be built on the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail corridor at a a state-owned maintenance yard.
On the table is a 5 percent amusement tax, which at one point was considered to be insufficient to generate enough revenue for the project. If the tax is back on the table, it probably means another source of income — either through the team or another government entity — has been identified.
RELATED STORIES: Milwaukie seeks public input on new ballpark; Milwaukie moves ahead with ballpark-feasibility study; Clark County postpones ballpark hearing; County scales back commitment to Portland-area ballpark; Competing ballpark plans in Portland; New Portland-area ballpark could provide economical bump: study; Clark County reverses course; will exclusively negotiate with Bears; Clark County passes on exclusive negotiations with Bears; opposition to new ballpark rises; Funding plan emerges for new Clark County ballpark; Yakima Bears to Portland area
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