Reps from both the city and the Hagerstown Suns (Low Class A; Sally League) say they’re close to a final lease agreement for a new downtown ballpark. The two sides have been negotiating for weeks on a lease, and there seems to be little doubt that an agreement will be reached, especially after an anonymous […]
Archive | Future Ballparks
Anonymous donor pledges $15M for new Hagerstown ballpark
The financing of a new downtown Hagerstown Suns (Low Class A; Sally League) ballpark got a little easier after an anonymous donor pledged $15 million toward the project. The donor, a former resident of Hagerstown now living as a retiree in Pennsylvania, asked for two things: naming rights for the facility and a statue. The […]
Hillsboro ballpark groundbreaking set for Sept. 21
The groundbreaking for a new Hillsboro (Ore.) ballpark for the relocating Yakima Bears (short season A; Northwest League) is set for Sept. 21, as well as an announcement of the new team name. The 4,500-seat ballpark at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex is set to open for the 2013 season. Team owners and other city officials […]
Champaign to move forward with ballpark study
City staff in Champaign (Ill.) has been instructed to move forward with a study of the potential of minor-league baseball, but stopped short of authorizing any money toward the task. A report issued by the Illinois Business Consulting group, a student-run organization operating under the University of Illinois College of Business, concluded that the area could support professional baseball […]
Champaign to discuss ballpark plan tonight
The Champaign City Council will hear a report on the potential of professional baseball in that Illinois community, with both affiliated and independent ball on the agenda. The county will hear a presentation from the Illinois Business Consulting group, a student-run organization operating under the University of Illinois College of Business, regarding a feasibility study […]
Residents seek more input in new Hagerstown ballpark
A group seeking public input into the decision to build a new downtown ballpark for the Hagerstown Suns (Low Class A; Sally League) presented 910 signatures to the city council last night. The group opposes a new downtown ballpark for two reasons: taking on new debt during lean times makes little financial sense, and it […]
Ginning up ballpark opposition
There’s always some level of opposition to a new ballpark; NIMBY folks usually aren’t hard to find. But sometimes the media goes out of its way to find them, as we’re seeing in Prince William County and El Paso. Take, for example, this report from the Examiner. The headline holds lot of promise: “New stadium […]
Second ballpark site emerges in Wilmington
Wilmington (N.C.) officials are exploring a second waterfront site for a new Class A Carolina League ballpark — one that would lower the cost to taxpayers. The city had pretty much settled on an 8.5-acre site near PPD owned by developer Chuck Schoninger, which should cost around $6 million. But the availability of an 8-acre site […]
Hagerstown: Construction of new ballpark could begin next spring
Construction on a new downtown ballpark for the Hagerstown Suns (Low Class A; Sally League) could begin as early as spring 2013 if things come together, according to a progress report issued by Hagerstown. Here’s the fuil press release: The City of Hagerstown is continuing its efforts to create a significant downtown revitalization project featuring […]
Nasty ballpark fight emerging in Wilmington
Expect lots of outside money, as opponents and proponents of a publicly funded ballpark in Wilmington (N.C.) prepare to spend lots of money to sway voters to their side in the November elections. We’ve already seen Americans for Prosperity, the right-wing anti-government advocacy group founded by the Koch brothers, spend $20,000 on an effort to […]
Will pro baseball return to Columbia?
From yesterday’s Ballpark Digest newsletter: with the Columbia Blowfish (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League) season over and Cap City Stadium sold, the future of baseball there is in serious flux. UPDATED! By all measures, Columbia (S.C.) should be a pretty good market for Minor League Baseball: the city has a population of 129,272 and sits in the middle […]
Milwaukie has week to decide ballpark fate
Milwaukie (Ore.) has a week to decide if a new ballpark for a summer-collegiate West Coast League team is in the city’s future — or whether a team is unable to justify the revenue necessary for a large-scale project. Spurned by the short-season Northwest League, the city has turned to the WCL as a possible […]
Hotel tax on El Paso ballot; no direct choice for voters
The El Paso City Council voted to include a provision on the fall ballot to raise the hotel tax to pay for a Class AAA ballpark, but voters will not directly vote on whether a ballpark should be built. The plan all along was to ask voters to approve a two-percentage-point increase in the city’s […]