FeedsBaseball park plan is not quite ‘long gone’
It looks like it could be a while before minor league baseball comes to Romulus, if at all.
Tim Keyes, the economic development director for the city, said he’s hopeful the parties that would build a stadium for a minor league baseball team can iron out their difference in a conference call. But he also said negotiations are breaking down.
“There are a number of issues that need to be worked out, and it’s a slow process,” he said. “We can’t say too much about it right now – we’re still taking about it.”
A stadium, which would be constructed as part of a mixed-use development at Wick and Vining roads, was touted as part of plan that could make Romulus the entertainment capital of western Wayne County. The city, developers and an unnamed sports entity have been in talks for about 18 months.
Keyes said complex issues of ownership are under the microscope, and if those issues can be worked out, the rest of the development should fall into place.
“(The entities) feel it’s the right place and the right parcel of land,” he said, “but it’s just more complex than that.”
Minor league baseball could be a shot in the arm for the local economy, which is taking a beating from the faltering automotive industry and job losses in other sectors. The Toledo Mud Hens – a minor league team associated with the Detroit Tigers – regularly sells out Fifth Third Field, which is located in downtown Toledo.
That structure, which seats 10,300 fans, cost $22 million to build, but brings a steady stream of fans that spend money at nearby businesses and retailers. In 2006, Toledo hosted the Triple All-Star Game, and $3 million was pumped into the community, according to published reports.
A ball park could round out planned entertainment venues that are eagerly discussed but have not yet come to pass. It would join a planned casino and racetrack slated to rise from a vacant parcel of land on Vining Road. The casino, which would be owned by the Hannahville Indian Tribe, is working its way through a federal approvals process. The racetrack is on hold until a lawsuit brought by the operators of another harness racing track is resolved.
Officials hope restaurants, stores, retail outlets and other small businesses would be willing to do business in and around the new stadium.
Minor league baseball became popular in part because the tickets are less expensive than major league admittance fees, and because the entertainment value is equal.
Keyes said the having a ballpark would be huge asset.
“We hope things can be worked out,” he said.
