Negotiations with the Southside Stadium property owners and the CALEB group for a Community Benefits Agreement have broken down. Officials said future talks will be with another local group - the South Chattanooga Community Association.
Jermaine Freeman, the mayor's chief of staff, told members of the Sports Authority on Thursday that the CBA was "a work in progress." He said, "It's a long and difficult process."
Mr. Freeman said, "There probably is about to be a bit of a shift to the primary group who is representing the community."
Jeff Meldahl of CALEB said the group had sought "legally binding" agreements regarding local participation in the stadium construction, but those were not forthcoming.
He said, "We have hit kind of a wall on the negotiations."
Mr. Meldahl said CALEB had wanted agreements "that would be legally binding."
Mr. Freeman said there are a variety of laws involving construction requirements that would need to be considered in coming up with the CBA.
He said some of the benefits sought by the community are already taking place, including a county pledge of $10 million for Howard School and $5 million more for other Southside schools.
Ann Weeks, Sports Authority member, thanked CALEB for its work, while noting that the South Chattanooga Community Association was a proper representative for the largely black community.
Officials of LaBella Associates said a traffic study for the area around the stadium should be ready in 3-4 weeks. There are 18 different intersections being looked at over a wide section of the Southside.
Mr. Freeman said a number of "weighty" stadium agreements still need to be worked out and presented to the City Council and County Commission within the next few weeks.
Those include a development agreement, economic benefits plan, team lease agreement, bond and loan documents and a donation agreement.