With the city of Kannapolis acquiring 46 downtown acres for development, a new ballpark for the Kannapolis Intimidators (Low Class A; Sally League) could be on the docket.
The city will pay $5.55 million to David H. Murdock for the property, which has a tax value of approximately $23 million, per a city press release. The purchase includes eight blocks of buildings located on Oak Avenue, West Avenue, S. Main Street and West First Street. This property includes the former Cannon Village, the Gem Theatre, the current Kannapolis City Hall offices, Wells Fargo Bank, the current Kannapolis Police Department and the former Plant 4 site. The buildings have a total of 653,395 square feet.
“This is a history making moment for our City,” said Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant. “We now have the unique opportunity to launch a new chapter in the life of our downtown. This will allow us to capitalize on the many assets we have in our City while developing a vibrant downtown. We are appreciative of Mr. Murdock working closely with us to make this possible. He is committed to continuing his investment in the City and specifically the North Carolina Research Campus. This transaction strengthens our partnership as we all work to bring economic development and jobs to Kannapolis.”
Kannapolis will contract with the non-profit Development Finance Initiative at the UNC-CH School of Government to assist in the revitalization of downtown Kannapolis. The Development Finance Initiative (DFI) partners with local governments in North Carolina to attract private investment for projects including building reuse, community development, downtown revitalization, economic development, and neighborhood redevelopment.
And one of those projects could be a new downtown ballpark for the Intimidators. It’s no secret Kannapolis officials have talked new downtown ballpark to replace CMC-Northeast Stadium. Now, with the land acquired, we’re guessing we’ll soon see talk of a new downtown ballpark.
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