Building a Ballpark: City votes unanimously to approve loan for stadium

Construction on the downtown baseball stadium could resume as early as July, team owner Billy Prim said last night after the Winston-Salem City Council voted unanimously to provide additional financial help for the ballpark.

The council voted 7-0 to approve the plan. Council member Nelson Malloy, who represents the North Ward, did not attend the meeting for a health reason, Mayor Allen Joines said.

People who attended last night's public hearing at City Hall spoke mostly in favor of the city's additional involvement, saying that an unfinished stadium would harm the city's economy and make it difficult to attract new businesses.

The stadium -- which would cost $40.7 million and have 5,500 fixed seats -- is being built at Peters Creek Parkway and First Street. It would become home to the single-A Winston-Salem Dash, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

Many people said last night that they think of the new ballpark as a source of civic pride.

"That stadium, once the first brick was laid, became not the property of the city council, not the property of the mayor, not the property of the developer even," said city resident Jo Ann Allen. "Once that first brick was laid, that property became the property of Winston-Salem. It became the future of Winston-Salem."

Others who spoke said they were in favor of the deal because they thought the city had no other options and asked simply for more transparency in the city's financial dealings with the stadium.

"It's kind of like we've got to do it," said Jane Dougherty, a city resident who said she was in favor of finishing the ballpark. "We're in a sinking ship, so we've got to bail it out."

The deal approved last night by the council includes more oversight than the original deal announced last week by Prim and Joines. Among the changes in the council's approved version:

□ The council would create an oversight committee made up of residents who would review documents relating to construction of the ballpark and how the city's money is being spent. Joines said last night that applications for that committee are already coming in.

□ The city would get 25 percent of the net revenues of an office building, after 10 percent is returned to investors.

□ Prim would give a report to city officials every two weeks that would detail money spent on the stadium. That report would be available to the public.

□ After the stadium is finished, Prim would provide quarterly financial reports on operations to the city. The citizen-oversight committee would review those documents.

□ Prim would provide the stadium for free for two public events each year

□ The city would get the title to the main parking lot ahead of one of the banks lending money to Prim's development company should Prim default on the loan. The bank, Regions Bank -- which was formed in Alabama -- must still agree to that condition for the deal to be complete.

Council Member Robert Clark, who represents the city's West Ward, said that condition is non-negotiable.

"I cannot sit here and tell you that Regions Bank will approve what we are proposing tonight," Clark said. "But if we don't do it ourselves, it's not going to get done."

Prim said last night that he hopes to close on the loan by mid-July. The closing will involve Prim, the city and the banks that are involved in the financing.

The basic terms of the original deal proposed last week remain the same: The council's approval means that the city will take out a loan for $12.7 million to buy land for the stadium and help finish construction. Brookstown Development Partners would repay the loan over 25 years.

The city also will advance the company $2 million from a federal grant to pay for parking lots and roadwork. That grant has been approved, but must be amended to include the roads for the stadium.

And the city will finance $980,361 for Prim's company to buy city-owned land around the stadium. The company would pay for the land over 5 years. Ownership of the stadium would transfer to the city in 25 years.

In order for his company to repay the city's loan, Prim has said that the team needs to sell 350,000 tickets a season -- a number that some people opposed to the new deal have said is impossible.

Ron Wellman, Wake Forest's athletics director, said he thinks that the team will sell at least that many tickets.

City resident Philip Pfeifer said he knows that if the stadium fails, Winston-Salem taxpayers will be left holding the bill, but he believes that the stadium will succeed.

"This stadium is more than just baseball," he said. "It's about fun -- big kids, little kids, senior-citizen kids. So let's build this stadium and have some fun."

■ Laura Graff can be reached at 727-7279 or at lgraff@wsjournal.com.