Construction workers are back in full force at Winston-Salem's downtown baseball stadium, and the members of the citizens committee reviewing the work will likely receive an update at their meeting today.
Crews were back last week doing some work around the ballpark, but did not resume full-scale work until yesterday.
The Citizens Baseball Stadium Review Committee is scheduled to meet tonight.
Assistant City Manager Greg Turner said that the city would receive a verbal report from the stadium builders about the construction schedule.
He said that the city would give the information from the report to the committee.
The construction work comes one week to the day after the financing deal for the new ballpark closed.
Construction on the stadium had been stalled throughout 2009 as financing dried up.
Stadium developer Billy Prim and city officials blamed the struggling economy and negotiations between Prim and his former business partner and brother-in-law, Andrew "Flip" Filipowski. Filipowski, who had co-owned the Winston-Salem Dash -- the minor-league team that will play in the stadium -- is no longer involved with the team. Prim, through a secretary, refused to comment yesterday.
The stadium, which is being built at Peters Creek Parkway and First Street downtown, is projected to cost $48.7 million with land.
The city of Winston-Salem has helped with more than half that cost, with an initial $12 million investment in 2007 and another $15.7 million in financing and grants approved this summer. In exchange for its financial involvement, the city will own the stadium and lease it back to one of Prim's companies.
Prim's development companies are still bound by the original 2007 agreement with the city that requires the ballpark to be finished by the end of March 2010.
Construction crews have said that they will need another 160 to 180 days -- about six months -- to finish work on the ballpark.
If that holds true, the park would be finished on time.
lgraff@wsjournal.com | 727-7279
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