Charlotte Knights AAA Ballpark in Third Ward

[Charlotte_native]

How much would it cost someone to buy this plot of land and I think you have your answer.

I don't think that is the same as saying taxpayers will be footing the bill for this project. You've said or at least made claim that taxpayers will foot the bill. I was just asking if you have proof of this or if it is just your opinion that this will be the case. I don't see the statement above as having any proof other than you think they are getting the land at less than market value. If that is the case, then I see your point about getting land cheap, but that is different than the public coming up with cash to build this place.

Again, if you have proof that the public is actually paying for this and the Knights aren't, we'd all be interested in seeing or hearing about it and it likely could change some minds. From what I've seen, and backed up by the Knights having to work on securing financing, they (even if it is just technically) are paying to build their facility.

[New Name]

I love how they conceptualized Trademark under-construction, hah.

[soccer1guy_99]

Officially, the judge denied the lawsuit that Reese was attempting to make.

If this is based on the article in the paper, the judge did not throw out the lawsuit; rather he refused to issue a temporary restraining order. Restraining orders are only issued when there is a need for immediate relief. In this case, the county argued there are no immediate plans for construction so no immediate relief is needed. So this decision did not have much to do with the actual merits of the case. The lawsuit will continue unless there has been some other activity today. Hope that clarifies!

[HopHead]

Found a nice rant on charlotte.com about Reese. Pointing out the things we've talked about time and time again. 159 nights a year worth of sporting events in uptown would be quite nice. I always knew about the attempts to lure the Minnesota, Florida and former Montreal teams down here. But didn't know Pittsburgh and Houston were part of that as well. Even though it was just a ploy to get new stadiums.

[HopHead]

In looking at the powerpoint below, thanks to another poster, there appears to be some new (or different) renderings of the ballpark. Definitely makes me look forward to uptown Knights baseball even more. The right field area looks like a good place to hangout. The renderings are on page 47-49 of the PPT.

PowerPoint File

[HopHead]

In a somewhat related news, the Tampa Bay Rays are going to their local city council soon to ask to have a new stadium proposal put on the November ballot. I have to think that Mr. Reese is probably keeping an eye on this if he's still serious about brining MLB to Charlotte. If a team were to relocate here (MLB is not expanding any time soon), I think an American League team would make the most sense. The Rays are the only AL team south of Baltimore, while the NL has the Marlins, Braves, Nats and Phillies around the mid-Atlantic area. From reading a lot of baseball message boards (and I do that a lot), most fans speculate that the Rays would bolt for Charlotte if they can't get a new stadium in Tampa. Of course a lot of things would have to fall into place for that to happen, but it's a common theme. If they get their new stadium, hopefully Reese would go away and we can move forward with the Knights stadium. I just don't see how he could justify MLB at that point.

And for the record, I'm not saying I support Reese's efforts, I'm just trying to think what he may be thinking I honestly feel we're a least 10 years away from being able to support MLB in this city.

Edited May 14, 2008 by dbull75

[ontap]

I heard on the news last night that the judge in Monroe decided not to issue an injunction to stop the county from building the park. Does this mean that contracts will be signed and construction can officially begin? If so, when can we expect earth movers on site? Anyone in the know...

[CharlotteDave]

In a somewhat related news, the Tampa Bay Rays are going to their local city council soon to ask to have a new stadium proposal put on the November ballot. I have to think that Mr. Reese is probably keeping an eye on this if he's still serious about brining MLB to Charlotte. If a team were to relocate here (MLB is not expanding any time soon), I think an American League team would make the most sense. The Rays are the only AL team south of Baltimore, while the NL has the Marlins, Braves, Nats and Phillies around the mid-Atlantic area. From reading a lot of baseball message boards (and I do that a lot), most fans speculate that the Rays would bolt for Charlotte if they can't get a new stadium in Tampa. Of course a lot of things would have to fall into place for that to happen, but it's a common theme. If they get their new stadium, hopefully Reese would go away and we can move forward with the Knights stadium. I just don't see how he could justify MLB at that point.

And for the record, I'm not saying I support Reese's efforts, I'm just trying to think what he may be thinking I honestly feel we're a least 10 years away from being able to support MLB in this city.

There was actually something on the channel 9 news yesterday about the judge throwing out the Jerry Reese lawsuit, but there hasn't been any follow up on TV or in the paper. Therefore I don't know what the exact ruling was or what its impact will be.

[HopHead]

The Knights today announced that they won't pursue opening the stadium in 2009. In turn, they will look towards an April 2010 opening date. This will allow them to focus on doing the stadium right both from an architectural and financial perspective. Of course, this all pending the end of Reese's lawsuits.

Knights set 2010 goal for new stadium

[HopHead]

A few bits of news on the uptown stadium... Knights officials are "hoping" for a November 2008 start date on construction. Of course this all depends on the never ending Jerry Reese lawsuits. Two of which are supposed to be ruled on this month. That being said, I'm not sure why it'll take all the way until November for them to break ground. Construction costs are anticipatied to reach about $50 million. The Knights are hoping to offset that with sponsorship deals. More info here.

Also on a somewhat related note, the city of Tampa recently rejected putting a bond referendum on the November ballot to vote on financing for a new stadium for the Rays. There are some rumors or speculators out there that seem to think the Rays may be looking at other options besides Tampa b/c of this. Wonder if Mr. Reese is watching this situation....

Edited July 17, 2008 by dbull75

[dubone]

With the uncertainty at the banks, I would find it absurd that an MLB team would even consider looking at this city right now, especially given that it is a stretch given the size of the city to begin with.

Hopefully Jerry Reese starts paying attention to the news and starts to realize that the two large moneybags are not as full as they once were.

I even sometimes worry about the Knights getting enough sponsorship to pay for their stadium in this environment, but $50m is eminently more doable than a ~$1b MLB stadium that would absolutely not get backing from local officials to get public financing (beyond the basic infrastructure reimbursements that are ubiquitous).

With Mass Mutual supposedly terminating its 300 S Tryon project, it is even hard to imagine them continuing to foot the bill for the Brooklyn Village concept, given that it was going to be designed primarily as workforce housing. It seems to me that the market for that, being lower middle income families, are the people that are struggling in this economy and foreclosing in record numbers.

Regardless, it is possible that once the landswap is done, that Spectrum will reassess its planned project and possibly just wait it out and bank the new land. But Jerry Reese has single handedly jeopardized not only the viability of the planned public-private deal, but also the viability of his own proposal by delaying activity into this recession.

Optimistically, my hopes are that the rulings will come quickly, and that the momentum will carry the ballpark, park, and Brooklyn plans into completion, with opening dates on the other side of the recession. Time will tell.

[southslider]

If an MLB-team did agree to move here, why couldn't an expanded Knights stadium still work? In addition to convincing the Knights team to move out, it seems the only other major obstacle would be a stadium design capable of expansion west over Graham Street.

[HopHead]

If an MLB-team did agree to move here, why couldn't an expanded Knights stadium still work? In addition to convincing the Knights team to move out, it seems the only other major obstacle would be a stadium design capable of expansion west over Graham Street.

They certainly could expand the stadium if that were the situation. It would just have to be designed with that in mind. Plus I would imagine the team would have to work out something with the Knights since they are funding it. I honestly don't think MLB is realistic in Charlotte any time soon (as much as I would love it). We don't have the demographics to support it just yet. I'm not sure 100% on the numbers, but MLB is probably the most expensive of the 4 major sports for a city to support. Mostly b/c there are 81 home games a year. Not to mention we already have NFL, NBA, Nascar and a PGA Tourney.

[Raintree21]

It was posted in the 3rd Ward Park thread but I figured it would be more appropriate here.

A judge threw out Jerry Reese's latest lawsuit against the county to prevent the Knights from building their stadium. Of course, he immediately announced plans to appeal the ruling. A minor setback occurred though. Another judge ruled that a full state commission must review one of the bond packages related to the stadium instead of the small committee that previously approved it.

[New Name]

If Charlotte were ever to "steal" a MLB team, it should be the Royals. The name fits with the Queen City image, Missouri already has two teams (Cardinals and Royals), the Royals have the third-to-last smallest attendance, and their stadium is one of the oldest in MLB. Of course, it would never happen because Kansas City does support their team (despite the attendance records), they just passed a tax to improve (but not replace) their aging stadium, and the team just renewed their deal with the city until 2030. Heck, maybe we posture ourselves to put in a bid in 2030.

[Guest]

If Charlotte were ever to "steal" a MLB team, it should be the Royals. The name fits with the Queen City image, Missouri already has two teams (Cardinals and Royals), the Royals have the third-to-last smallest attendance, and their stadium is one of the oldest in MLB. Of course, it would never happen because Kansas City does support their team (despite the attendance records), they just passed a tax to improve (but not replace) their aging stadium, and the team just renewed their deal with the city until 2030. Heck, maybe we posture ourselves to put in a bid in 2030.

Sounds great to me, but remember once they move here their name has to be changed to a cat name, e.g Bobcats, Panthers, Cats, Lynx, etc. So I'm going to rename them the Charlotte Lions, cuz their the king of the jungle in the queen city (my girlfriend added the last part, and followed it up with a ROAR)

[Raintree21]

It was posted in the 3rd Ward Park thread but I figured it would be more appropriate here.

A judge threw out Jerry Reese's latest lawsuit against the county to prevent the Knights from building their stadium. Of course, he immediately announced plans to appeal the ruling. A minor setback occurred though. Another judge ruled that a full state commission must review one of the bond packages related to the stadium instead of the small committee that previously approved it.

Some clarification has come on the Judge Morrison's ruling. He explained that while the commission should have let Jerry Reese more of an opportunity to review the case but that his ruling does not reverse their decision or prevent the county from using bond money for the stadium. The ruling is apparently not binding and the commission can either accept the judge's recommendation or reject it and send the case back to the judge. Of course, if they reject it, unfortunately Reese is allowed to appeal their decision.

[HopHead]

I feel like this saga is never going to end... It's amazing how essentially one dude is preventing this ballpark from being built. At what point does he run out of appeals?

[atlrvr]

I wish we had tort reform....he should be liable for all incurred expense by affected parties.

[CharlotteDave]

This week's Business Journal has an article on the ballpark situation. It indicates the Knights are planning to have six dollar seats on what they refer to as the grassy berm. That probably gives us a good indication that most of the general admission tickets will be more than that. Unfortunately, there still seems to be a certain amount of uncertainty as to whether they'll be able to start construction by November.

[Andyc545]

This week's Business Journal has an article on the ballpark situation. It indicates the Knights are planning to have six dollar seats on what they refer to as the grassy berm. That probably gives us a good indication that most of the general admission tickets will be more than that. Unfortunately, there still seems to be a certain amount of uncertainty as to whether they'll be able to start construction by November.

That's very reasonable for tickets especially in a new premier stadium and location. Tickets now in Fort Mill are around that. I remember paying about 10-12 dollars a piece for lower deck, I think 8 for upper deck seats. They always have promotions going too, but 6 for lawn seats is still an affordable way to bring people for a relaxing and entertaining afternoon or evening under the lights.

[CharlotteDave]

I agree with you as far as the ticket prices go, but it has to be considered in combination with what it costs to park. For those who can take the light rail, which I plan to do quite a bit, it would be an excellent deal by today's standards.

[Andyc545]

I agree with you as far as the ticket prices go, but it has to be considered in combination with what it costs to park. For those who can take the light rail, which I plan to do quite a bit, it would be an excellent deal by today's standards.

I don't know how many people will actually come into uptown just for a game, maybe they will I really don't know. I am thinking anyone commuting into the city to watch will take the light rail and make an afternoon out of it having lunch or dinner, playing in the park, and do I dare to say one day possibly even do some shopping!

[InitialD]

I don't know how many people will actually come into uptown just for a game, maybe they will I really don't know. I am thinking anyone commuting into the city to watch will take the light rail and make an afternoon out of it having lunch or dinner, playing in the park, and do I dare to say one day possibly even do some shopping!

I'm sure it will be more than the number that venture down to Fort Mill to see a game, especially weekday.

[Andyc545]

I'm sure it will be more than the number that venture down to Fort Mill to see a game, especially weekday.

I guess my point was that when you venture to the stadium in Fort Mill, that is all you will be doing (unless you are driving somewhere else before after). It's very isolated. The stadium located in uptown has an infinite amount of things to do within a one mile walk from the stadium. Certainly more will be venturing into uptown than out in the boonies of Fort Mill.