Officials are continuing to discuss a proposed ballpark for the Boise Hawks (Short Season A; Northwest League), which has some ways to go before coming to fruition.
As was noted here earlier this month, the Hawks are looking at the possibility of constructing a new facility in downtown Boise. The plan calls for team managing partner Chris Schoen and his Greenstone Properties to acquire 11 acres from St. Luke’s Health System, which would clear the way for a new ballpark to be constructed on the site. The new home of the Hawks would encompass about four acres, leaving the remaining land open for mixed-use development.
The ballpark could also accommodate professional soccer, something that has been covered previously on our sister site Soccer Stadium Digest. Furthermore, the possibility of building a facility in downtown Boise with anchor development offers some intrigue, especially since Schoen and Greenstone Properties have or will be involved in projects such as Parkview Field–home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Low A; Midwest League)–and the forthcoming Project Jackson in North Augusta, SC, which includes a new home for the Augusta GreenJackets (Low A; Sally League).
Before all of the key details come together, however, several components need to be resolved. Schoen still has to come to terms with St. Luke’s to finalize the land acquisition, which would enable Greenstone to donate the acreage for the ballpark. Additionally, officials will have to sort out the involvement of multiple parties on issues such as ballpark funding and ownership. In a detailed breakdown of the proposal, the Idaho Statesman asked city councilman Scot Ludwig about the likelihood of it coming together:
The likelihood is hard to handicap, because it’s such a complex negotiation between so many private and public groups. The big hurdle right now is the negotiation between Greenstone and St. Luke’s.
If St. Luke’s accepts an offer from Greenstone, Ludwig said, “I think there’s a 50 percent chance this gets built.”
Preliminary estimates call for the ballpark to open by the 2020 season, if the proposal does indeed move forward. The Hawks have spent years trying to vacate the outdated Memorial Stadium, and a new facility is something that Schoen and Jeff Eiseman have discussed since acquiring the franchise before the 2015 season.
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