06-11-18 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING June 11, 2018 the South Bend Cubs have engaged in. This is a partnership we have engaged in throughout the past seven(7) years. The reason I'm making this presentation to you is because we are partners in this. This is a City-owned ball park. We are a tenant and signed a twenty (20) year deal with you in 2011 and we take our goals very seriously.Periodically we like to come back to the City Council to report how things are going. There are one hundred and sixty (160) minor league ballparks across the States and each year Major League Baseball meets with their affiliates and discusses with their affiliates who had the best ballparks, skill development and training, environment,food, finances, and so forth. We won the Major League Baseball award, the John Johnson award for having the best Minor League team in the United States. That was in 2015 and then last year we won BallparkDigest Best Ballpark of the Year in the Minor Leagues. So again,the accolades come across. When they talk about the South Bend Cubs, they are talking about South Bend. We can and should leverage the power of the Cubs brand to also talk about how great South Bend is. We talk about it all the time. Mr. Berlin continued, Again, the partnership we have had is unusual. It doesn't exist in all of the cities where there are Minor League ballparks. What we are achieving together contributes to amazing development in South Bend. I think South Bend has clearly turned a corner over the last six(6) and seven(7)years about what is happening in downtown. A lot of the work you are doing, we are doing and what other developers are doing shows that you can be successful in downtown. In terms of taxes and revenue that has come to South Bend through the income of the Professional Sports Development Fund, $4 million dollars over the last six(6)years has come back to the City as a consequence of all the stuff we do. And those revenues stay in South Bend. They don't go to the coffers in Indianapolis. This is an extraordinary benefit to South Bend. In terms of the jobs, when we bought the team there were two hundred and thirty-five (235) positions and now we employ three hundred and sixty-two (362) people. That is a fifty-four percent (54%) increase in employment. The amount of payroll is up one hundred and forty-six percent (146%) since we bought the team. Overall,we have also been philanthropic. I'm happy to report that we have given back around$600,000 to a number of organizations in the area. It is good business, it makes sense, and it is something that Joe and I believe in. Mr. Berlin went on, These upgrades are upgrades to a City-owned facility. Even though these upgrades were paid for with private funds,they are a benefit to South Bend as well. A$6.5 million investment in amenities. We never would have had the Cubs in South Bend if we didn't replace the artificial surface with sod. We spent$700,000 on grass alone. We also shared the responsibility of renovating a real architectural gem. That is the synagogue that has now become the team store. It really is a tourist attraction in and of itself. The Performance Center is just beyond the right field fence. Again, the Cubs would not have come to South Bend without this facility. It is a one (1) of a kind facility in Minor League Baseball. No other team in triple-A (AAA), double-A (AA) or single-A (A) has a facility like this. That was built for about $2.5 million. Lastly, we are building those four (4) apartment buildings. Hopefully, three (3) of the four (4) buildings will be done by the end of July, and the last one (1) by August. The Ivy at Berlin Place is about a $23 million investment.By the time everything is said and done with landscaping, it will be about$25 million. The rooftop facility will also be a tax revenue generator for South Bend. There will be over three hundred (300) people up there, per game, with food, alcohol and merchandise service. In conclusion,we have more fans,more year-round events,more investment and we are not stopping. We are very pleased but never satisfied and Joe and I are very thankful for the partnership we have. We don't take it for granted. Council President Scott opened the floor to comments or questions from Council Members. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, Thank you so much for your investment. I appreciate the partnership that you talked about and really highlighting the piece about being a model for investment in South Bend. The public-private partnership is investing in our people and is paying dividends. Thank you so much. Councilmember Sharon L. McBride stated, I echo the same. It is really great to have a taste of Chicago in our neighborhood. I'm often in Chicago but coming and going to the games around here is a lot of fun and it gives us a lot of things to do.I am very proud it leads to a good partnership with you all and I look forward to us continuing to grow. 3