There won’t be a miniature Fenway Park in Plant City. Or Yankee Stadium. Or any replica stadium, for that matter.
Plant City commissioners directed City Manager Greg Horwedel Aug. 26, to terminate negotiations with Big League Dreams Inc., the California-based company that builds replicas of major league stadiums. The company was the only organization to submit a proposal for a long-term use of Plant City Stadium.
“We were just too far apart,” Horwedel said about the negotiations between the city and Big League Dreams. “It doesn’t make sense for them, and it doesn’t make sense for us.”
Big League Dreams’ proposal had asked that the city contribute $1.5 million toward construction costs. The proposal also estimated $3,082,958 in annual gross revenue. Of that total, the city would receive 2.4%, or $73,911.
During the negotiation process, Horwedel expressed concern about the community and surrounding areas financially supporting the Big League Dreams concept in Plant City. The company makes its profits by renting the stadiums to teams and tournaments that want to use the replica stadiums and fields. It pulls in additional revenue by charging admission for tournaments, typically $3 for adults and $1 for kids.
“We’re not sure how successful that would be here,” Horwedel told the Plant City Times & Observer earlier this month.
Following the termination of negotiations, Big League Dreams will return the $450,000 licensing fee Plant City paid in October 2011, when the city entered into a 30-year licensing agreement with the company. Under that agreement, Big League Dreams would not build a similar facility within a 40-mile-by-30-mile oval around Plant City Stadium.
Since then, Big League Dreams founder and Managing Director Rick Odekirk said several Florida cities expressed interest in Big League Dreams. The company currently is negotiating for locations in Jacksonville and Ft. Lauderdale.
Built for the Cincinnati Reds as a spring-training home, the stadium has been without a proper tenant since the Reds moved in 1997, to Sarasota. The International Softball Federation moved its headquarters in 2000, to Plant City in offices near the stadium. ISF’s lease goes through 2019.
In April, the city accepted a short-term lease agreement with VSI Tampa Bay. VSI converted the stadium to host soccer games for four of its teams throughout out the summer.
The city loses about $387,000 annually on operating costs of the stadium and four-plex.
Now, with no suitor and with VSI Tampa Bay’s first and only season in Plant City complete, Horwedel said he and his staff will examine solutions for the stadium. He said the city will not seek new proposal for a long-term use, and, depending on the ISF’s future plans, the city may elect to raze the stadium and replace it with additional fields.
ISF Executive Director Don Porter said tearing down the stadium actually may yield a bigger economic impact by giving the facility the ability to host larger tournaments.
“A way to make more revenue that you would like to see is to have more fields,” he said. “We’re happy to work with the city and do whatever we can to bring in more tournaments and maximize the economic impact.”
One of the ISF’s reasons for coming to Plant City was to create the Softball Hall of Fame, which will be housed at the headquarters and would not be affected by a stadium demolition. The project stalled after softball lost its Olympic status following the 2008 Olympic Games.
“We have an exceptional relationship with the city,” Porter said. “I’ve been all over the country and world, and this really is one of the best facilities I’ve seen.”
Contact Michael Eng at meng@plantcityobserver.com.
IN OTHER NEWS
• Tampa Electric President Gordon Gillette presented a framed letter of appreciation to Plant City Fire Rescue personnel for their work extinguishing a June 24 fire at TECO’s Plant City location.
“People in Plant City put their lives on the line to save our people and our building,” he said. “We will forever remember that.”
• Madison Park resident Edith Best asked Plant City commissioners to consider making the intersection of Ball and Waller streets a four-way stop. Best said the intersection is dangerous as a two-way stop and is hoping to prevent a fatal accident. Mayor Mary Thomas Mathis said city staff currently is examining the intersection to determine whether a four-way stop would be appropriate.
• The City Commission approved unanimously the rezoning of the parcel at 2301 S. Frontage Road from Hillsborough County RSC-4 to Plant City Planned Development District. The new zoning will allow a maximum of 139,520 square feet of commercial development on the parcel.
• Tecta American is nearing completion on the 66,194-square-foot membrane roof project on the Plant City Police Department. The total cost of the project was $225,097.
