A ballpark being pitched in Malden, MA is not expected to be funded through city dollars, according to a report.
Wicked Local is reporting that the ballpark, a concept long pursued by developer Alex Bok, may not require the use of city dollars for construction. An anonymous spokesperson for Malden Field of Dreams told the outlet that there were no plans to request city funds, marking the latest development for the proposed $60 million facility.
As was noted here last week, Bok has stated his intention to focus on attracting a Minor League Baseball team to the city just north of Boston. For years, Bok had pitched the ballpark as a potential Atlantic League facility, but his shift to affiliated baseball comes under a tight schedule. More from Wicked Local:
Bok now has until Jan. 31 to gauge interest from Minor League clubs to see if they may be willing to relocate. He will present his findings to Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner by Jan. 31 and is expected to present to the Malden City Council on Feb. 7.
“He’s going to have more details on most of the topics the mayor covered,” the spokesperson said of the Feb. 7 meeting.
Bok had initially planned to bring an unaffiliated Independent League team to downtown Malden at a site enclosed by Centre, Commercial, Canal and Charles streets. But he was unable to secure the necessary funding.
Last week, [Malden mayor Gary] Christenson said the latest iteration of the stadium would require approximately $60 million in private funding, and noted that Eastern Bank and East Boston Savings Bank may be interested in subsidizing the project.
There are still some areas to address in this project, including land acquisition of certain parcels, development and financing deals, attracting a team, and receiving approval from the Boston Red Sox. That will be a lot of ground to cover if the project is to move forward as the ballpark, if approved, could open as early as 2019.
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