http://www.herald-mail.com/news/local/hm-meeting-on-stadium-proposal-draws-concerns-about-parking-public-input-20120520,0,6058391,print.story
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Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
CITY MAY WIN RACE TO BUILD STADIUM (WinchesterStar.com)
May 19, 2012
By VIC BRADSHAW
The Winchester Star
WINCHESTER — Two cities want one minor league baseball team.
And if the winner proves to be the first one to produce a new stadium, Winchester is in the driver’s seat to land the Hagerstown (Md.) Suns.
Though officials with Hagerstown and surrounding Washington County voted this month to provide financial support to build a new multi-use stadium, Winchester is ahead of the game because its officials can have the necessary financing in place and begin construction months before their Maryland counterparts.
That financing is not guaranteed, however, and Winchester could wind up forfeiting its opportunity if the business deal isn’t deemed a sound one.
Jim Deskins, executive director of the Winchester Economic Development Authority (EDA), said he was involved in discussions this week with financial advisers about bond options for the project. Winchester is counting on stadium revenues, including various tax receipts, to pay back its bonds.
Next week, during an annual discussion about the city’s finances with Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service representatives, Deskins said he will raise the stadium idea to determine whether it could affect the city’s good credit ratings or bonding ability.
“The city is not going to do anything that would lower its bond rating or pledge general obligation city taxpayer funds to this project,” he said. “This project has to be able to stand on its own.”
The Suns are an affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They play in the low-level Class A South Atlantic League.
The Nationals have declared 80-year-old Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown to be substandard and told team owner Bruce Quinn that he must find an acceptable ballpark or lose his affiliation with the club.
According to its timeline, Winchester anticipates beginning stadium construction in December if the project is approved. That would allow play to start at the beginning of the 2014 season.
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http://winchesterstar.com/articles/view/city_may_win_race_to_build_stadium
http://winchesterstar.com/articles/view/city_may_win_race_to_build_stadium
Thursday, May 17, 2012
A Hot Commodity ... Minor League Baseball (TV3)
Hagerstown, Winchester, and Minor League Baseball. For the two cities, not a day has gone by without talking about the future of the Suns.
Posted: 5:31 PM May 16, 2012Reporter: Alyssa Raymond
http://www.tv3winchester.com/home/headlines/A_Hot_Commodity_151784235.html
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
CITY OFFICIALS ASSESSING 2 SITES FOR POSSIBLE MULTI-USE STADIUM (WinchesterStar.com)
May 16, 2012
By VIC BRADSHAW
The Winchester Star
WINCHESTER — Within the next month, city officials will have a better idea about Winchester’s prospects for building a multi-use stadium.
Jim Deskins told members of the Winchester Economic Development Authority on Tuesday that which site is best to pursue and project bonding options should be clear by June. The EDA’s executive director said two key meetings related to the project are scheduled this week.
If the stadium is built, it would open in time for the 2014 baseball season — with the Hagerstown (Md.) Suns its likely primary tenant. The low-level Class A team is seeking a new ballpark because its current stadium is 80 years old.
Hagerstown-area officials also are working on a plan to build a new stadium by 2015, in the hopes that the Suns will stay.
In Winchester, Deskins said the land under consideration at the intersection of Tevis Street and Legge Boulevard — behind Winchester Station shopping center — requires minimal site improvements. Patton Harris Rust and Associates (PHRA) determined that the parcel would accommodate 1,100 parking spaces.
The second site, a two-parcel location behind the Lowe’s home improvement store, would require nearly $2 million in infrastructure improvements if the stadium were built there. That figure includes the cost to connect Legge Boulevard to Frontage Road.
A price has been negotiated for the main parcel behind Lowe’s, but officials haven’t discussed land prices with Simon Properties, which owns the other tract. Deskins said those talks will begin this week.
“We didn’t want to negotiate with Simon until we had a firm cost to develop the property,” he said.
PHRA determined that the second site would allow 822 parking spaces.
On Thursday, Deskins said, city officials will participate in a meeting to discuss financing options for the project.
Monday, May 14, 2012
City officials release timeline for construction of sports, events center (Herald-mail.com)
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