Wilmingtonians were not the only ones glued to the news for results from the stadium referendum Tuesday.
In Lynchburg, Va., managers and fans of the hometeam Hillcats were at full attention and ultimately relieved when the majority of voters here issued a reverberating “no” to a proposal to publicly fund a 6,200 seat baseball stadium that would host an Atlanta Braves minor-league team.
It was the Hillcats single-A franchise that was slated to move to Wilmington had the stadium proposal gone through.
But Hillcats General Manager Paul Sunwall said he was not surprised when Wilmington’s electorate shot it down 70-30.
“We’ve been keeping up with it over the last nine months or however long it’s been,” Sunwall said Wednesday. “We realized the writing was on the wall.
“Nobody wanted new taxes,” he said.
Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said Tuesday he knew the proposal faced a high climb.
“Clearly this opportunity came knocking at our door at a tough time, when citizens are worried about government spending, even when the benefits are large,” Saffo said after the Tuesday’s vote results. Supporters of the proposal here had argued the stadium could mean strong economic growth and a new height of local pride.
A “yes” vote from Wilmington in the referendum would have authorized the city to secure up to $37 million for the stadium’s land and construction and would have slated residents for a 2.5-cent increase on the property tax rate.
“Speaking for the fans here, I’m happy for them,” Sunwall said in Lynchburg. Despite the team’s name, it is a Braves affiliate and is in the middle of a four-year agreement. “We’re happy with the Braves. We’re happy to be here.”
He added that he believed the Braves were pleased with its presence in Lynchburg, “but they would have been even happier if they had a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility in a new market” like Wilmington.
Baseball has been a part of the Lynchburg community since the late 1800s with teams like the Tobacconists, the Cutters and the Shoemakers. Into the 20th century the Cardinals were at bat there; the Carolina League, which the Hillcats team is under, came to town in 1966.
Sunwall said the Hillcats were the sixth or seventh affiliate he’s worked with in Lynchburg, past teams having been with the Mets, Red Sox and the Pirates.
He explained the Mets were in town for more than a decade until 1987, when Port St. Lucie, Fla., offered to build the team a new facility for spring training and summer games for the single-A team, a deal the club accepted. The Red Sox moved a minor-league team to Lynchburg the following year, a relationship that lasted until the mid ’90s, when the Pirates moved a team in.
Sunwall called the Braves’ continued presence in Lynchburg and Wilmington’s vote a “win win,” but said regardless baseball would find a way to flourish in his town.
Contact Ben Brown at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
