Paul Payne: If You Don’t Build It, They Will Leave

  • Sunday, January 28, 2024
  • Paul Payne
Paul Payne
Paul Payne

The ghostly message whispered to Kevin Costner’s character in the movie “Field of Dreams” was clear – “If you build it, they will come.” It inspired Ray Kinsella to plow up a few acres of cornfields to build a baseball field despite public ridicule.

A similar edict faces local decision makers over the proposed new stadium for the Chattanooga Lookouts. But there’s more at stake than a few ears of corn. To put it bluntly - if we don’t build it, they will leave.

Plenty of conversation has been generated and opinions voiced about the feasibility – or necessity – of a new stadium being built off South Broad Street for the Lookouts.

Spirited arguments have been delivered on both sides of the issue. The increase in project costs and projections seem to be ever-changing along with who’s ultimately on the hook financially. Both camps have spun the numbers to support their cause, and our eyes glaze over when trying to understand the complexities of the public/private financing.

Some have suggested that the Lookouts aren’t going anywhere, so what’s the rush? In order to settle that debate, I spoke on Sunday to a representative of the Cincinnati Reds – the Lookouts’ major league affiliate – who was very clear that time is of the essence.

“We won’t be here in two years if this deal isn’t ratified,” said the Reds front office official, who asked to remain nameless. “We won’t be allowed to remain and MLB will require us to move. That’s not our decision. All that is handled by Major League Baseball.”

When MLB assumed control over the minor leagues in 2020, the desire to streamline the minors and place affiliates at stadiums meeting upgraded standards became preeminent. The Lookouts were originally on the list of locations to be contracted due to the current stadium, AT&T Field, being deemed unacceptable and no room to make the needed improvements on the current footprint.

“We could’ve left three years ago, but because of our relationship with the Lookouts and their owners we didn’t want to leave Chattanooga,” the Reds’ official said. “We had an opportunity to go other places but turned it down knowing this group was trying to get a new facility in place in a reasonable amount of time. But MLB is now wanting answers.”

Persistent inquires are made to the Reds organization from cities interested wooing their Double-A affiliate away from Chattanooga. This is part of an ongoing $3.2 billion investment into baseball infrastructure committed by cities and teams who recognize the financial impact and community value in hosting one of the coveted minor league franchises.

“The Reds can leave at any time during this delay, but we are committed to this new stadium project in Chattanooga for as long as we can,” said the Reds representative. “We actually wrote a letter to MLB saying we support the the project despite the delay in construction so they would get off our butt and Chattanooga’s butt. We truly want to remain here.”

But there is a day of reckoning that will occur sooner rather than later. I’m hopeful that the political posturing can be put to rest so that a generational opportunity to move forward with the stadium to anchor the transformation of the South Broad District can proceed.

“We’ve got the land for the stadium being donated along with $40 million coming out of the owners’ pockets,” the Reds official said. “The rent the owners will pay is the highest in all of minor league baseball, and there’s nobody even close. If they’re willing to pay $1 million per year, don’t tell me owners aren’t fully vested in this project.

“I’m a baseball guy, not a politician. All I can tell you is that those wanting to block this deal are about to step on a land mine the likes of what they don’t understand. You can’t imagine how much revenue this area is going to generate apart from the stadium. If politics blows this up, then we’ll be forced to find another place to go.”

Frankly, the whole whirlwind of recent debate has created lines to be drawn in the sand. Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp hosted a public forum where he urged the Lookouts owners and project developers to infuse more up-front capital and asked that other concessions be given to sweeten the pot.

Defenders of the proposed deal cite the fact the developer is donating the land needed for the project, the fact that no existing tax dollars will go into the stadium and that the private funding is subordinate to the full repayment of the public funding. Plus, 80-percent of the venue’s proposed usage will be for other community-based activities unrelated to baseball.

I’m confident that the parties involved – city and county officials, team owners and developers - will be able to arrive at a mutually agreeable conclusion. There’s too much at stake to do otherwise. Because failure to act decisively could result in the loss of minor league baseball for Chattanooga.

The current conundrum reminds me of a similar debate that took place two decades ago when I lived in Montgomery, Ala. The city was hoping to revitalize a downtrodden downtown district by bringing back minor league baseball, and constructing a new stadium was critical.

Some naysayers claimed that a makeover to the existing stadium – an aging edifice built in 1949 – was plenty adequate. But the local leadership made the bold move to move forward with Riverwalk Stadium, a city-owned facility which opened in 2004 as home of the Montgomery Biscuits. That bold move single-handedly served as a catalyst to growth that continues today, bringing hotels, restaurants and housing to the surrounding area.

The decision was unquestionably a home run. Revenue exceeded projections by 42 percent through the first five years, and attendance blew away the original forecasts. The stadium debt was repaid ahead of schedule, and Montgomery leaders attribute more than $244 million of new construction over the past decade thanks to the bold decision to convert an old railroad depot into the new ballpark.

Now it’s Chattanooga’s turn to decide if building a new home for the Lookouts can have a similar impact on the blighted old foundry site under consideration. Regardless if you’re a baseball fan or not, this project will be transformational. It is my hope that this renewal will also benefit and preserve the surrounding communities such as Alton Park that have long been overlooked.

We find ourselves at a crossroads. But it’s time to fish or cut bait. I’m certain that with or without the stadium, the conversion of the old Wheeland Foundry and U.S. Pipe sites will occur. But how does the addition of only condominiums, hotels and restaurants benefit the community at large the same way a stadium would? It would be sad to imagine our city without the Lookouts. I witnessed first-hand the transformation in Montgomery, as well as seeing how new baseball stadiums spawned growth in Birmingham and the Huntsville suburb of Madison.

Personally I am in favor of moving forward with the stadium. I trust that our local leaders can sift through the numbers and find common ground to move forward without compromising their values. That’s why we elected them to serve as our advocates.

It reminds me when, nearly four decades ago, doubters told local philanthropist Jack Lupton that he was crazy for his desire to build an aquarium along the city’s riverfront. Many considered it an outlandish move. I’d say that one turned out pretty well for Chattanooga, and I think the same will ring true with the stadium project.

Let’s build it so they will stay.

* * *

Paul Payne can be reached at paulpayne6249@gmail.com

Stadium rendering
Stadium rendering
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