The independent Atlantic League has officially expressed interest in a new downtown High Point (N.C.) ballpark, as the city commits $15 million to a land purchase for the new facility.
The new 5,000-seat facility would also host soccer, concerts and football. Last night the High Point City Council voted to move forward with the plan and spend up to $15 million on land, site planning, design, environmental studies and other prep work. It would be located on a land package bounded by Elm, Gatewood, Lindsay and English streets.
Another $15 million would be spent on the actual facility.
A letter from the Atlantic League doesn’t commit the circuit to anything right now, as there’s a search underway for a local owner:
[Forward High Point Executive Director] Ray Gibbs said he couldn’t divulge details about the team’s ownership because it had yet to be finalized. As for the stadium’s naming rights, he said a few High Point businessmen were conducting a search for a buyer.
“I have no idea who it will be,” Gibbs said of the naming-rights buyer.
Gibbs said the city had control of about 80 percent of the needed land and was confident the remainder would be acquired without a problem.
High Point already hosts baseball in the form of the High Point-Thomasville HighToms (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League), who play at historic Finch Field. The city is less than 2o miles from Greensboro and about 25 miles from Winston-Salem.