Tag: Minor League Baseball

Stadium

Port St. Lucie leaders want to build a soccer stadium at the last second

According to Port St. Lucie city leaders, this agreement “is designed to bring economic growth, entertainment, and new opportunities to the community.” In this instance, the taxpayer money given to ESC will come from the TIF revenue. However, for the last few weeks, many city leaders have been trying their best to express one specific thing: taxpayers will not pay for the stadium. This message has been expressed time and time again whenever this subject is…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

How many times will MLB threaten a minor league city and then walk back that threat when the deadline passes?

Lately, we have seen virtually every minor league team tell their local jurisdictions that they require millions of taxpayer dollars for upgrades to their ballparks. They require it quickly too because Major League Baseball has given us a date…or else! This forced many cities to give money to the teams without much, if any, examination of the actual details. As Ballpark Digest noted in a story, this is why a number of minor league teams…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena Ballpark Stadium

Yet another “historic” community benefits agreement…this time in Chattanooga

In July, the Chattanooga Lookouts, a minor league baseball team, reached an agreement with the city to build a new ballpark. Although the price was originally going to be $79.5 million, the final price tag was actually $120 million. Not to worry, though, as the public contribution amount is capped at…$112 million? Ever since 2022, local groups in Chattanooga have been pressuring local officials to make sure that the community was represented whenever a community…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Why isn’t anyone asking minor league owners to pay for their own venues?

Why is nobody asking the owner to pay for these upgrades? Why are the local media not outright demanding, if not just asking, this basic question? Sports owners have simply gotten used to receiving every dollar of revenue and paying almost nothing for expenses. The owners of one minor league team admitted in a lawsuit that the city they played in had “an unlimited obligation to cover the cost of the stadium”. That is how…

William Neilson Jr.
Stadium

Negotiations continue to happen in secret across the country, all without the public seeing or hearing about it

This is not going to shock anyone. Sports owners hate when their plans are released and looked at intensively. Have you ever read a sports venue agreement? Try reading the Potomac Yard Economic and Fiscal Impact Study from the failed Capitals/Wizards to Alexandria, Virginia proposal. The agreements are almost impossible to read and understand unless you read these types of documents daily. This is why billionaire owners aren’t always forthcoming with initial sports venue details.…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are not putting in $30 million into their ballpark, the city is doing that for them

According to the article, the Jacksonville Jump Shrimp discussed how the “team plans to build” a facility in right field and center field, a souvenir shop and a concourse level. Towards the end of the article, a fan is quoted saying that he loves the improvements because it shows that the team was “putting that type of money” into the ballpark. The team is really putting their wallet on the line. Except, they are actually…

William Neilson Jr.
Arena Ballpark Stadium

Chattanooga’s ballpark costs continues to rise, supporters still claim the ballpark will pay for itself

In Chattanooga, the price of their new ballpark continues to skyrocket. If you remember, two years ago, the city was facing fierce opposition from locals who didn't want to give any taxpayer money towards a new ballpark. But the city decided that this new ballpark would be a “home run for the community” and approved the deal.  This meant the city would be putting up roughly $80 million dollars for the project.

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Major League Baseball continues to extort taxpayer money out of numerous cities

Several years ago, Major League Baseball decided to eliminate numerous minor league baseball teams. They also updated the ballpark facility standards for minor league baseball teams. What does that mean exactly? What things must be upgraded or built? It is now mandatory for a ballpark to have “larger clubhouses, brighter stadium lights, covered batting and pitching tunnels and other details”. Let's not forget the price of these upgrades, which “will be quite high”.

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Oregon State lawmakers reject $20M request by Hillsboro Hops. Team now says city should pay that money

The Hillsboro Hops are a minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks, in Hillsboro, Oregon. Just outside of Portland. Much like they are doing in most cities with a minor league team, Major League Baseball has told Hillsboro city leaders that their minor league teams will leave town if substantial upgrades or a new ballpark are not completed. I could post 1000 links of stories all over the country where a city is…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

The Philadelphia Phillies will ask Clearwater for public money in two weeks. Two weeks after that. Some time later. Maybe?

The Philadelphia Phillies have a history with Clearwater, Florida. Since 1947, the Phillies spring training facility and ballpark has been found here. But over the last decade or so, the Phillies have struggled to get money out of local city leaders. In early 2019, the Phillies asked for $40 million from tourist taxes for ballpark renovations and were flatly rejected. But now they are trying again. Maybe. We think.

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

10 years ago, Biloxi, Mississippi built a new ballpark and promised economic home-runs

The ballpark was to be built for the Biloxi Shuckers, the Class AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2015, the city spent $36 million to build a new ballpark. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant claimed the new ballpark “would be an economic development driver for the area”. A local foundation estimated that this new ballpark would result in “an additional $10 million annually in visitor spending”. As AL.com notes, the ballpark came with a “promise…

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Spartanburg claims new ballpark will be an “explosion of development” yet still gives few financial details

Last week, it was announced that Spartanburg, South Carolina would be getting a minor league baseball team. The ballpark is reportedly part of a $250 million dollar project to develop property in the city's downtown district. According to one city council member, the ballpark will “set off an explosion of development” and bring an “economic boom” to the city.

William Neilson Jr.
Ballpark

Worcester was promised that Polar Park would pay for itself, it has not and will not

In 2018, Worcester, Massachusetts, agreed to finance a substantial portion of taxpayer money to build a brand-new ballpark. Although the city would be borrowing around $100.8 million for this project (making it the 4th most expensive minor league ballpark to be built), city leaders justified this expense by stating how the ballpark would fund itself, if not make the city money in the long term. At the press conference announcing the deal, the city manager…

William Neilson Jr.