If Columbia builds it, they will come.
At least, that’s what Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin is hoping, as the city is on track to get a minor league baseball stadium at the planned Bull Street development.
After four hours of debate and discussion, City Council passed a plan Tuesday night to fund the construction of a baseball stadium and multi-use entertainment venue on the Bull Street development. It was the first of two votes to approve the plans.
The proposal passed with a 4-3 vote, with council members Moe Baddourah, Leona Plaugh and Tameika Isaac Devine voting against it.
In order to fund the $38 million project, the city will commit $29 million in hospitality bonds, sports investment company Hardball Capital will contribute $6 million and Hughes Development will contribute the remaining $3 million.
Under the 30-year contract, Atlanta-based Hardball Capital would pay up to $516,000 per year toward the project until private investment in the development reaches $60 million.
Once the stadium has been built, Columbia could potentially bring in around $692,400 in annual taxes and fees. The city would initially be allowed to hold up to 20 events in the stadium per year, but that number is up for negotiation.
The Bull Street development is to be executed in four phases, with costs coming to a total of approximately $137 million. Over the course of five years, costs related to the stadium, including for its constriction and parking, are expected to be $86.1 million.
“We are trying to fix any cost to the city at the very beginning,” Benjamin said.
Under the contract with Hardball, if more than 275,000 people go to the stadium in one year, the city will make $1 off of each ticket sold.
Community members expressed both concerns about and support for the project at the meeting, and the public spoke for more than an hour.
John Durst, former director of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina, urged the council to delay a vote on the proposal, saying the plan was still a work in progress when it was presented Tuesday night, and that made him uncomfortable.
“Please don’t make a rushed decision,” he said. “Please don’t vote on this matter tonight.”
Columbia resident Bob Liming echoed Durst and told the council to read through the agreement closely before signing anything.
“I’m not against baseball. I’m not against progress,” Liming said. “But some of us disagree, Mr. Mayor.”
But Ted Speth, another Columbia citizen, told the council that stadiums add to the areas in which they are built. Speth said he has lived in Durham, N.C., and Greenville, both of which recently constructed minor league stadiums, and that the construction changed both cities for the better.
However, Devine and Plaugh both expressed concerns about how quickly a vote was being taken on the matter. Devine said the conversation would not help the situation, adding that having the project finished by the proposed 2015 date would be “aggressive but unrealistic.”
“Based on everything we’re doing, I think [2015 is] unrealistic,” Devine said. “If we decide to do this, I think we should do it later.”
Plaugh made several motions to push the vote on the project back, but each motion failed and returned the council to Benjamin’s initial motion to take a vote.
“It may be a good deal from a baseball perspective, but it should also be a good deal from a city perspective,” Plaugh said.
The argument between Benjamin and Plaugh became especially heated when Plaugh said Benjamin was being disrespectful toward her; Benjamin then challenged Plaugh’s demeanor in email correspondence and her attendance at meetings. Plaugh told Benjamin she had only missed two meetings, both for business reasons.
When the debate subsided, the second portion of the deal passed unanimously, and it was decided that Benjamin and Plaugh would have a conference call Wednesday morning to discuss concerns regarding their working relationship.
A final vote on the project is likely to be taken later this month.