Troy ballpark strikes out
After residents fight the plan, council votes to keep minor league stadium out of the city.
Advocates say:
• General Sports, the company that pushed the plan, would have financed the 5,500-seat facility privately.
• Troy and community groups could have used the stadium for up to 265 days a year with no rent.
• Developers were negotiating long-term parking agreements with adjacent commercial properties.
• Developers wanted to begin playing baseball at a new park by May 2006.
Critics say:
• The city may have been vulnerable financially if the team failed or moved to another location.
• No new parking is planned.
• While Troy could use the ballpark, it would have to be reconfigured for softball or youth league teams.
Previous reports
Editorial: Troy City Council should approve new stadium deal
Minor league charm?
If Troy became the home of a minor league baseball club, would you go to their games?
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TROY -- After hours of contentious debate, council members voted 4-3 against building a minor league baseball stadium in Troy, a plan that advocates said would have brought the city millions and which developers vowed would incur little expense for the city.
The issue had angered many residents. They piled into council chambers for hours berating council members for considering a plan that they contended would bring noise to their communities, damage property values and cost them more than the city and developers were estimating.
"Thank God," said Troy resident Richard Minnick, who presides over his homeowners association near the proposed stadium site. He said he would sue the city if it had proceeded with the plan to build the stadium. "I'm very elated. I didn't expect this."
General Sports and Entertainment developer Andy Appleby was upset by the vote, which took place shortly before 11 p.m. Monday.
"We're disappointed," Appleby said. "We're not sure what happened. We worked very hard. There are plenty of other communities we can pursue. There are lots of communities that would love to have us."
He said the opposition was misinformed. "They didn't get to know us," he said. General Sports and Entertainment proposed to develop, manage and operate the ballpark north of the Troy Marriott hotel on Big Beaver Road.
The company proposed to pay $17.5 million to build the 5,500-seat stadium.
Robert Bickmeyer, 75, had vowed to vote out of office all council members who supported this plan.
"They keep trying to enlarge the city, but I like small-town living. All, or at least most, senior citizens I know are against this," he said.
City taxpayers would have been on the hook for up to $2 million for streets, lighting, water and other infrastructure needed for the stadium, which is near City Hall and the Troy Community Center. The stadium would have been within the boundaries of the city's Downtown Development Authority.
The proposal called for General Sports to build the stadium and give it to the city. The city would have had the right to approve any transfer of management or ownership of operations of the facility. The city also would continue to own the land upon which the stadium would sit.
A flier distributed by a group calling itself Troy Citizens United advised residents to attend council meetings.
"Mayor (Louise) Schilling has been relying, unbelievably, on e-mails and the showing of hands at meetings to determine if Troy residents are for or against the stadium. It is vital to e-mail council members because Mr. Appleby is succeeding in getting his supporters to do so," the flier said.
Resident Linda Schulz, 42, said, "I feel we should not have this because of lack of due diligence. There has been no market study, there have been no competitive bids."
Troy Citizens United said its key issues of concern were insufficient parking, taxpayer financing, alcohol sales, questionable community use and aggressive promotion by General Sports.
General Sports, in a document to the City Council, tried to dispel resident concerns:
"We want to make it clear that we have never proposed to finance the stadium through means that would use resident tax dollars or impact the City's AAA bond rating. From the beginning of our discussions with the city, we expressed an interest in exploring the use of a municipal financing structure that would provide a lower interest rate, but would have required General Sports to take responsibility for all payments and provide a credit enhancement to guarantee all payments and protect the city from liability."
The company said it will inject between $15 million and $17.5 million of private financing into the Troy economy. "The construction project alone will bring significant revenue into the local economy," the document said.
The stadium and baseball operations would have brought 15 to 30 full-time jobs to Troy, with an additional 60 to 100 or more seasonal jobs.
Amy Lee contributed to this report. You can reach Shawn D. Lewis at (248) 647-8825 or slewis@detnews.com.
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