In October 2007, the public was invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Winston- Salem baseball stadium. It was replete with fanfare and celebrities. The Winston-Salem State University marching band performed, fireworks were ignited and hall of fame slugger Henry Aaron was the keynote speaker. Hammerin’ Hank promised those who gathered that he would return to throw out the first pitch on opening day. But, alas, there’s the rub. Currently the ballpark is half finished, with no projected date for construction to resume, nor a prediction of when the Warthogs (now the Dash) might play their first game there. The stadium went from eye-opener to eyesore in just a few short months, and it now stands as a constant reminder of what can go wrong when developers don’t put their own money into their own projects.
Several years ago, Winston-Salem Warthogs owner Billy Prim (also founder of Blue Rhino propane tanks and Primo water) and his now expartner, Flip Filipowski (a pioneer in the software industry) announced plans to move their team from Ernie Shore Field into a brand new stadium that would overlook downtown. The cost of construction was set at $22 million dollars, which was comparable to that of the Greensboro Grasshoppers’ new digs. Billy and Flip convinced city council to put up $12 million dollars, while the two developers would secure the other $10 million in loans from area banks. In addition to the lure of a new ballpark, the carrot that Prim held out to council was a promise of developing $189 million dollars worth of offices, stores, restaurants, and apartments adjacent to the stadium.
Not long after construction began, however, Filipowski dropped out of the deal, leaving Prim to complete the project. Then came news that the cost of the stadium had been grossly underestimated, and would balloon to $38 million dollars. Prim had hoped that city council would cough up the difference, but this time Mayor Allen Joines refused, leaving Prim to search for other partners.
It is now believed that Prim has secured an additional $10 million dollars in financing, leaving him just $6 million short of his new goal. As such he has reportedly sought out partners, such as Richard
Childress and ISP owner Ben Sutton to ante up the needed cash, but thus
far neither man has expressed any interest in the deal, at least not
publicly.
Meanwhile, Prim spokesperson Kevin Mortensen told the Business Journal that
completion of the stadium was not contingent upon securing another
investor. In fact, Mortensen indicated that, if need be, Prim would
make up the difference out of his own pocket. And that brings me to the
main sticking point.
Both Prim and Filipowski are very wealthy
men, each reportedly capable of paying for the project by themselves.
So why the delays? There is talk that Filipowski’s divorce triggered
the entire financing fiasco, and that the partnership demise was
further complicated by the fact that his ex-wife is also the sister of
Prim’s wife. But again, both men had the means to build the stadium
before the divorce or the dissolution of their partnership. Instead,
they sought and received public funds for what should have been a
privately held and financed project, something that worked well for the
Grasshoppers, who didn’t use a cent of taxpayer money to erect
NewBridge Bank Park. So where do we go from here? Everyone agrees that
the city can’t afford to have a half-built stadium adorning the I-40
corridor in perpetuity. It’s bad for our image and can impede future
development deals. That’s why one option is for us to take Mortensen at
his word and just wait for Prim to sink his own money into the project,
and hope that construction will resume quickly. On the other hand, we
have no guarantees of that happening.
That leaves the second option, which is for the city to do the unthinkable and chip in another $6 million to cover the shortfall.
If the latter course is pursued, Prim should realize that today’s taxpayers are understandably angry about bailing out businesses, much less bailing them out with no stake in the profits. That’s why if council considers pledging the additional funds, they should also insist upon one major caveat. The city’s total investment would rise to $18 million, so, in return, Winston-Salem would own 51 percent of Prim’s Sports Menagerie Stadium, LLC. Under the terms of this agreement, Prim could manage the company, but the city would manage the finances and accounting. and, if things go as Prim has suggested, then the city could recoup its investment three fold in 25 years. Along the way, part of each year’s profits could be set aside for education and public safety.
The idea of a municipality owning a stadium is not without precedent, and, where the Dash is concerned, it was actually Hank Aaron himself who first proffered the idea of public ownership. On that October day two years ago, Aaron told the excited crowd, “Remember one thing.
This is your ballpark. It’s your dollars”. Perhaps the home-run king was trying to tell us something more prophetic than we first realized. But if taxpayers do invest in the new stadium, we should reap the benefits. Either way, city council needs to move forward on this matter quickly, and start exercising its power to control a development in which it is already invested. Hammerin’ Hank is waiting. So are we.
Jim Longworth is the host of “Triad Today,” airing on Fridays at 6:30 a.m. on ABC 45 (cable channel 7) and Sundays at 10 p.m. on WMYV (cable channel 15).
...Today’s taxpayers are understandably angry about bailing out businesses, much less bailing them out with no stake in the profits. That’s why if council considers pledging the additional funds, they should also insist upon one major caveat....own 51 percent of Prim’s Sports Menagerie Stadium, LLC. ...Prim could manage the company, but the City would manage the finances and accounting.
