Comments made by Columbia, South Carolina’s Mayor Steve Benjamin seem to suggest the Savannah Sand Gnats may be considering a move.
The State newspaper reported Benjamin as saying he was in talks with a minor league baseball owner about moving his team to the city, with the understanding they would be welcomed with a new stadium funded through a public/private partnership.
The mayor told The State he planned to visit a stadium the undisclosed owner has built in the Midwest using the funding model.
Benjamin could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
The Ballpark Digest followed with a piece on Benjamin’s comments, stating the mayor’s not-so-subtle remarks left little doubt he was talking about the Sand Gnats.
Sand Gnats’ owner, Hardball Capital, also owns the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Fort Wayne’s Parkview Field, which opened in 2009, was built using a combination of public and private funding, with the city putting up about $25 million and Hardball investing about $5 million.
Hardball had proposed a similar arrangement last year to Savannah city officials, eyeing the Savannah River Landing site as a potential location for what was estimated to be a $35 million outdoor, multi-use stadium.
“They had made it very clear they wanted a new stadium,” said city spokesman Bret Bell.
After visiting Parkview Field in June last year, some council members had expressed interest in the idea, but that interest has faded.
The city has not ruled out the idea of a multi-use stadium, but staff and council are focused on getting a new arena built to replace the Civic Center, Bell said.
Hardball CEO Jason Freier said the team does receive inquiries regularly, but they do not comment on such discussions.
Grayson Stadium, the Sand Gnats’ current home which opened in 1926 and was rebuilt in 1941, does pose challenges relating to its age and in trying to grow attendance, Freier said.
A new multi-use stadium would benefit the team and the city by serving as a venue that would draw people to it throughout the year and spur economic development, he said.
Hardball pays $25,000 annually for use of Grayson Stadium, and the Sand Gnats’ two-year lease at the stadium expires Sept. 30, 2014. Freier said Hardball’s stadium in Fort Wayne draws about 500,000 people a year, while Grayson draws about 130,000 annually.
A new stadium in Columbia is not a done deal. The mayor still has to convince the city council to support the proposal and figure out a funding plan, according to The State.