Get ’Er Done
At long last, the Sounds and Metro ink a ballpark deal—but they’re not home free yet
by John Spragens
There was much back-slapping and hand-clapping in a second-floor City Hall conference room Tuesday afternoon as Mayor Bill Purcell and Sounds General Manager Glenn Yaeger announced a big bucks ballpark and mixed-use development deal. More than three years in the making, the proposed agreement provides $20 million in city funds to help pay for the $43 million ballpark, money generated by selling a plot of downtown Metro property to a firm that will construct a $40 to $60 million in retail and residential development on it.
Of course, if there’s anything to be learned from the long and tortured saga of First Tennessee Field—or park or stadium; the local bank has signed a letter of intent on naming rights—it’s that the deal’s not done until the first pitch is thrown. After all, in December 2004, Purcell triumphantly announced that a general agreement had been reached and that banks were on board to finance the Sounds’ portion of the deal. Six months later, the team and the city publicly declared themselves at odds again over the project’s ballooning scope and unconventional financing mechanism. This week, the development project has reverted to something that looks more like the original proposal, and the team and the city have declared their intent to sign a memorandum of understanding.
But—now it’s time to bring out the metaphors—the baseline’s not necessarily clear between here and home plate. First, the team needs a developer. It’s a role that was slated to be filled by the Baltimore-based Struever Bros. firm, but now that the project has diminished in scope, many doubt Struever will remain interested. The company didn’t return a message left by the Scene late Tuesday. Metro finance director David Manning says Struever has until Oct. 31 to decide if it’s going to participate. If not, MDHA will attempt to find another developer—which Manning, in an email to the Scene that only a true bureaucrat could write, says is possible. “MDHA is confident that there is sufficient interest in this project and the adjacent Rolling Mill Hill project to assure a quality developer that will generate sufficient economic activity to complete the deal,” he says.
The second obstacle is even more unpredictable: the Metro Council. Though Purcell tried to be charitable toward them in his public comments at Tuesday’s announcement, the simple fact remains that many council members will oppose something solely because he supports it. To be sure, the council has never overwhelmingly embraced the ballpark idea, but they haven’t shot it down either. When Purcell’s people file the plan Nov. 4, as they expect to, anything could happen. Some members, hopefully, will carefully scrutinize the deal, in particular the city’s use of tax increment financing (TIF) to fund it and the decision to sell the land outright to the developer rather than lease it over a long term.
Mayoral candidates, meanwhile, will stick fingers in the wind and figure out how much support to give the plan. Bob Clement, for one, had released an alarmingly simple supportive statement by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. At-large council member David Briley may or may not be a candidate for mayor, but after reviewing a four-page executive summary of the ballpark deal Tuesday afternoon, he remains skeptical. “It looks like some progress in terms of consummating a deal,” he tells the Scene. “But there’s still a lot of unanswered questions from what I can tell, both in terms of what’s going to be constructed there and how it’s going to be paid for.” The use of $17 million in TIF financing, in particular, raises red flags for him—especially if Sounds owner Al Gordon decides to sell the team anytime soon. “The thing that’s not in this deal, which is a deal breaker, as far as I’m concerned, is some sort of recourse to the city if the Sounds decide to sell the team. I’m not voting for something as a council member that turns a money-losing organization into a moneymaker, and have the owner flip it and sell it to somebody else.”
Manning, meanwhile, says TIF is a smart and safe way to finance the project. “The city gets new development from the tract itself that is more than sufficient to pay off the $17 million TIF loan, and cash from the developer that will at least equal the full $20 million we contribute to the construction.” No worries from Dr. No.
One thing’s for sure: it’s been a big week for Bill Purcell, who announced on Saturday that he wouldn’t seek a third term as mayor. (Technically, he announced that he didn’t think mayors should run for third terms; harried staffers had to scurry around explaining that he meant he wasn’t running for re-re-election in 2007.) The decision about Hizzoner’s political future was a long time coming; his deal with the Nashville Sounds represents the second resolution of a shit-or-get-off-the-pot situation in a few short days.
Comments (0)