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SPECIAL MEETING NOVEMBER 30, 2010 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ballparks all across America. He stated that he doesn’t know of any minor league ball <br />parks that are not owned by the community in which it is located. The park has been <br />built at public expense. The team is then the tenant of the facility just as we are here. He <br />stated that they are not doing anything any differently than other communities are, but <br />thinks with some of the new leadership with the team, the staff of the Silverhawks that is <br />put together are in a better position now to be able to go out and get private businesses, <br />the private sector involved in the ball park. It’s an important partnership that they <br />continue to pursue. <br /> <br />Councilmember Oliver Davis asked if there is a dollar goal. <br /> <br />Mr. Kernan replied that their goal is to sell as much sponsorship, advertising, and naming <br />opportunities as they can. He stated that since the 4 seasons that have passed since <br />closing on the deal to buy the team they have not made any money. No investor has <br />made any money on their investment in the last 4 years, not one. He stated so once again <br />they are in a fight to try and do everything that they can to make sure that the team is <br />financially viable. He stated that it’ a private business that rents a public facility and it’s <br />not unlike what happens in communities all across America. He stated that the City has <br />done a very good job over the 25 years without the help from the Professional Sports <br />Development Fund, but the fact is that the Cove was paid off in 1998, the bonds were <br />paid off, it’s an existing facility in the community and is one that if we were going to <br />build it today would cost between 35 to 40 million dollars to build that ball park. What <br />they are asking is that the 10.2 million dollars be reinvested at this time to fix, repair and <br />replace things as well as make some enhancements and no not everything that they are <br />proposing have to do with Major/Minor League Standards. The splash pad was an idea <br />that they had in order to bring more people into the park, not just for 70 Silverhawks <br />game a year but for other events and other activities that they are going to have. It is their <br />desire to open the park up when they are not using it, so that people can go around in a <br />360º concourse. So they can go for a walk around the ball park, in the morning, after <br />work or whenever they want. People can walk to the park and sit in the stands and eat <br />their lunches. He stated that it is a city park and think that there should be some <br />playground equipment in the park as well and not just used for Silverhawks games. It is <br />to bring people to the park to enjoy and use it. He stated that he doesn’t know of any <br />park that pays for itself, its not an easy proposition to have any park be able to pay all of <br />its bills or break even. That is why there is a Park Department in order to perform those <br />services and typically use tax dollars in order to do that. He stated that its this <br />opportunity that we have is one that has been talked about for the first time the downtown <br />will be physically connected to the ball park. It was impossible to do that before when <br />the Gates Building was there. It was impossible to do that because of some of the <br />buildings that were there and the shape that they were in. The City is now assembling <br />land in order to create enough critical mass that investments can be made, not sure it that <br />will be tomorrow but, if we were still sitting there with all those buildings surrounding <br />the ballpark none of those things would happen. It would be impossible for them to <br />happen. That kind of development is a public/private development. The public sector <br />has to make those kinds of investments in order to trigger and make it feasible for private <br />business to make those kinds of investments. He stated that he lived in Indianapolis for <br />eight years and it used to be a joke. Downtown Indianapolis was a place that nobody <br />wanted to go to. He stated that it was perceived as being dangerous and at 5:00 when the <br />workforce went home they shut the lights off. It was not much of a place to live. The <br />City of Indianapolis invested in Victory Field which is their AAA Ballpark, which was <br />build about 10 years after the Cove was, and if you go into the ballpark it looks a lot like <br />the Cove with City funds. Conseco Field House was built with City funds; Lucas Oil <br />Stadium built with City funds, the Convention Center right next to Victory Field was <br />built with City Funds and the list goes on and on with investments made from public <br />funds and today they are the envy of much larger and more well know communities <br />because of the kinds of things that have been done and created. Indianapolis is a <br />pedestrian City, it’s easy to get around, and things are close to each other. He stated that <br />we can take a page out of that book, we know that we are not of that scale, but we as a <br />community, we as a city are not going to make investments in these kinds of treasures <br />that we have and create the opportunity to make them attractive to other people, then <br />nothing is going to happen. He reiterated what Councilmember Rouse stated that they <br /> 9 <br /> <br />