Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I honestly don't think its time. In my opinion, Greenville needs to have a significant plan in place for a facility. The Mayor was all into the amphitheater idea when Wilmington opened its' last year...and the City has just invested a lot in the Town Common and Wildwood Park.
Guy Smith is a nice high school stadium. Its not nice enough for this and is in the wrong part of town for this. A nice facility needs to be downtown, either in the warehouse district or near the Town Common. There are plans for hotels, but still no hotels downtown. In my opinion, Greenville is still 10 years away from having a plan for a real minor league team...and by that I mean a high A team. I could see Down East moving to Greenville when the facility is in place, Kinston could then get a CPL club. There is no reason to spend money for a CPL club, spend it on other recreational/community needs and then do a private/public project for a real stadium in the right location.
I would argue here that a CPL would be the first step towards a minor league team. We're not getting MILB team so long as the Ducks are in Kinston and they signed a 10 year extension recently. You can build the stadium such that it could be expanded as needed. Basically getting a CPL team and looking ahead to a minor league team should/could be in the same plan and not mutually exclusive.
I would argue here that a CPL would be the first step towards a minor league team. We're not getting MILB team so long as the Ducks are in Kinston and they signed a 10 year extension recently. You can build the stadium such that it could be expanded as needed. Basically getting a CPL team and looking ahead to a minor league team should/could be in the same plan and not mutually exclusive.
I have no problem with a CPL team, what I am saying is don't spend any money on it...like Wilmington isn't spending any money on theirs.
Invest money into a long run facility in the right place to have a legit team. If you build it, they will "move". Kinston isn't likely to keep that team after the 10 year extension.
I have no problem with a CPL team, what I am saying is don't spend any money on it...like Wilmington isn't spending any money on theirs.
Invest money into a long run facility in the right place to have a legit team. If you build it, they will "move". Kinston isn't likely to keep that team after the 10 year extension.
Same page. Any development/investment should be done so with an eye to an MILB team at some point in the future.
I can remember Terry Holland floating the idea of an ballpark downtown before ECU built Clark LeClair..... unfortunately we did not have the vision for a vibrant city center at the time.
I know ECU owns a lot of the property on the east side of downtown, but a ballpark along first street would be a great anchor for that portion of Uptown.
I have no problem with a CPL team, what I am saying is don't spend any money on it...like Wilmington isn't spending any money on theirs.
Invest money into a long run facility in the right place to have a legit team. If you build it, they will "move". Kinston isn't likely to keep that team after the 10 year extension.
Great points all around. I'd lean more towards Francis on this.
I don't see Kinston holding onto the wood ducks. Honestly, I could see MiLB saying "If it didn't work in Kinston, how will it work 30 minutes away in Greenville??". That would be a reason to get a plan in place now. That would start with getting a team in town with a plan to build a downtown multi purpose stadium that can be expanded in the future. Show the MiLB that Greenville can support a team for a few years. I would imagine that Greenville would get around the same attendance for the CPL as Kinston currently does for the Wood Ducks.
I don't see us staying in the CPL for long, especially if they can get the Wood ducks to move there.
I could definitely see Wilmington trying to make a run for the Wood ducks if they can get a plan together. Other than Cary, they are the largest city in NC without a Minor league team. I don't follow Wilmington development a lot, but I know they were trying for one a few years ago but couldn't get it squared away.
Great points all around. I'd lean more towards Francis on this.
I don't see Kinston holding onto the wood ducks. Honestly, I could see MiLB saying "If it didn't work in Kinston, how will it work 30 minutes away in Greenville??". That would be a reason to get a plan in place now. That would start with getting a team in town with a plan to build a downtown multi purpose stadium that can be expanded in the future. Show the MiLB that Greenville can support a team for a few years. I would imagine that Greenville would get around the same attendance for the CPL as Kinston currently does for the Wood Ducks.
I don't see us staying in the CPL for long, especially if they can get the Wood ducks to move there.
I could definitely see Wilmington trying to make a run for the Wood ducks if they can get a plan together. Other than Cary, they are the largest city in NC without a Minor league team. I don't follow Wilmington development a lot, but I know they were trying for one a few years ago but couldn't get it squared away.
With CLS available most of the summer, what Greenville may want to do is work out with the Wood Ducks to have some series in Greenville and then Greenville may get more excited about the Wood Ducks to make trips to Kinston. This may be the best of both worlds, saving the City money to build a stadium but also having a team in town.
Even if the/a team eventually moves to Greenville to play in a new stadium, you could still hold a few series a year in Kinston to grow the fan base. The name Down East works for a partnership likes this. Holding series in Greenville and getting a larger gate and alcohol sales could also help the Wood Ducks financially. Now there is the ability to sell alcohol in the stadium and its in a good enough location with fairly good parking. I am sure ECU would not mind as long as it is on their terms in terms of the dates.
Great points all around. I'd lean more towards Francis on this.
I don't see Kinston holding onto the wood ducks. Honestly, I could see MiLB saying "If it didn't work in Kinston, how will it work 30 minutes away in Greenville??". That would be a reason to get a plan in place now. That would start with getting a team in town with a plan to build a downtown multi purpose stadium that can be expanded in the future. Show the MiLB that Greenville can support a team for a few years. I would imagine that Greenville would get around the same attendance for the CPL as Kinston currently does for the Wood Ducks.
I don't see us staying in the CPL for long, especially if they can get the Wood ducks to move there.
I could definitely see Wilmington trying to make a run for the Wood ducks if they can get a plan together. Other than Cary, they are the largest city in NC without a Minor league team. I don't follow Wilmington development a lot, but I know they were trying for one a few years ago but couldn't get it squared away.
Is Wilmington now trying to get a team? They all but had a MILB team and a waterfront ballpark 10 years ago but the citizen's voted against it (https://www.wxii12.com/article/voter...ington/2048060).... I'm not sure Wilmington has the sports vibe to support it, but as it grows perhaps that sentiment has changed? The waterfront would be an amazing locale for a stadium in ILM.
Back to Greenville. What is our debt service look like? I've seen "Quality of Life" bond referendums in other cities put before voters to develop entertainment (and other things) things like this. A Greenville/Pitt County referendum could potentially support a variety of things.
HP, i love the idea. Only thing in I wonder is if the powers that be in Kinston would allow that to happen? I'm sure internally the Wood ducks wouldn't want to play games outside of Kinston. Because if it's successful in Greenville, that would spell doom for the team to stay in Kinston.
Also, ECU would have to sign off on it. There's a reason why no CPL team has been able to get in to Clark LeClair., even though the seasons don't really cross each other. Before the Fayetteville team settled on Campbell, there were apparently discussions with ECU about having the team host for a year. That never came to fruition. I'm not sure how willing ECU is on letting games be hosted at CLS, even if it is for a series or two during the summer.
The stadium is great at ECU. I wish the city could just take those same plans and duplicate it downtown. I'd prefer Greenville have its own facilities, because it's easier to have control over. The CPL team down in Florence, SC decided to build their own stadium, even though they had a long-standing relationship with the local college down there. A multi-purpose stadium would allow for a lot of events year round. A stadium similar to the ones in High Point and Gastonia would be ideal.
I'm not sure of all the financials, but I think Greenville is doing pretty well as a city. I don't see why a hotel / food & beverage tax couldn't be added to help fund something like this. But that's a whole other issue. It seems like the Capital Broadcasting company was really interested in getting something going. I"m sure they would be putting some money together. I hope the city will keep in touch with them.
Is Wilmington now trying to get a team? They all but had a MILB team and a waterfront ballpark 10 years ago but the citizen's voted against it (https://www.wxii12.com/article/voter...ington/2048060).... I'm not sure Wilmington has the sports vibe to support it, but as it grows perhaps that sentiment has changed? The waterfront would be an amazing locale for a stadium in ILM.
Back to Greenville. What is our debt service look like? I've seen "Quality of Life" bond referendums in other cities put before voters to develop entertainment (and other things) things like this. A Greenville/Pitt County referendum could potentially support a variety of things.
Wilmington will eventually have a team. A parks bond referendum in 2014 for a stadium was turned down in favor of a riverfront park amphitheater. That went from $20 million to $30 million in cost (the city had to cover the difference in terms of general fund) but it has been a huge success changing the regional landscape over night in terms of the quality of entertainment in the Wilmington region. Massive mixed use developments have been built next to the amphitheater generating significant tax base.
The next area in Wilmington of development is next the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge. Council just signed off on a mixed use residential project on the river called Proximity. This former industrial area is an ideal location for a riverfront stadium so it will be interesting to see where the development "opportunities" go, now that the amphitheater is built and successful. Wilmington could bookend its downtown with those two projects, and have the Riverwalk connect them.
The next project though appears to be a new soccer specific stadium to lure a USL team to Wilmington. The Cameron's are involved with this so its likely going to come to fruition.
They may also be looking at the site I indicated or even looking in Leland to see if they would help. Soccer is likely ahead of baseball in Wilmington because of the success of the Hammerheads in the market, but baseball will happen eventually too. May just be an investor putting money into the infrastructure to make it happen sooner.
Wonder what this will mean for the league. I can certainly see some moving of a couple of teams to larger markets like Greenville.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
