UPDATE: The City of Wilmington has posted the draft agreement with the Atlanta Braves and Mandalay Baseball Properties online. Click here to view it. Below is the September 13 story about the draft agreement.
The city has reached an agreement with the Atlanta Braves and Mandalay Baseball Properties toward the creation of a 6,200-seat minor-league stadium by the river, according to a Thursday evening news release from the city.
Wilmington City Council at its regular meeting Tuesday night will consider the draft for adoption. According to the city, the terms regard a 20-year collaboration with the Braves and Mandalay to build and operate the stadium at a seven-acre downtown property fronting the Cape Fear River. It could come with a 1.5-acre public park.
As previously disclosed, officials do not expect construction to exceed $31 million, an expense that a 2.5-cent city property tax increase would make possible. The cost of the land, which the city has yet to acquire, could come in around $6 million, money the Braves-Mandalay group would repay to the city through yearly rent and fees.
Council at its August 7 meeting voted to place a $37 million bond referendum on the November 6 general election ballot to cover the project. The stadium’s future relies on its passage.
The city says the ideal completion date would be April 2014 or April 2015, a factor the design process will influence.
Also per the draft deal, the Braves-Mandalay would assume the stadium’s operating costs, but would also receive its revenues.
The city’s news release Thursday noted the project is also contingent on the Braves successfully relocating a Lynchburg, Va., based minor league to Wilmington and winning approval from Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and the Carolina League.
The city will post the draft agreement in full on its website, along with the rest of the council’s September 18 meeting materials, by noon Friday.
