Doesn't look good for them:
County has dim view of Mavs’ pitch
Commission wary of management.
By RACHEL WEBB of the Tribune’s staff
Published Thursday, November 17, 2005
Boone County commissioners said they do not oppose the idea of a baseball stadium at the county fairground, but they are skeptical that the Mid-Missouri Mavericks and their management are the right team for the project.
Questions about stadium financing and whether county taxpayers would be protected if the
team goes under must be fully answered before the Boone County Commission can decide on the possibility of a stadium at the fairground, commissioners said today in a work session.
Presiding Commissioner Keith Schnarre said he remains "cool" to the proposal by Mid-Missouri Mavericks owners Brad and Gary Wendt. The team, which finished in last place in its Frontier League division in 2005, would need management changes in order to gain his support, Schnarre said.
"Everywhere we go in the community, there’s not positive feelings out there," he said.
The Wendts have said the fairground is the most likely site for the $6 million stadium they want to build for their team.
The commissioners said the Wendts must submit a written proposal on the project before the commission has enough information on whether to pursue the project.
Residents have said they are not opposed to the stadium concept but lack confidence in
Mavericks’ management, Southern District Commissioner Karen Miller said.
"It’s just not getting a lot of support in the community, and it’s not something I’m willing to die on," she said.
The Mavericks have leased Taylor Stadium at the University of Missouri-Columbia for home games since moving to the city in 2003. The team has suspended play next season, hoping to regroup in 2007 in a new stadium. That decision seems to have made the community "uneasy" about the project’s viability, Northern District Commissioner Skip Elkin said.
The Wendts’ Missouri Sports Equities LLC would pay for the stadium’s construction, and the team would be the park’s primary tenant in a long-term lease with the county. Other organizations could rent the stadium when the Mavericks were not playing there, the Wendts have said.
The Wendts would also like to build a 10-acre commercial development at the site.
A month ago, Gary
Wendt led county commissioners on a tour of Frontier League parks in the St. Louis suburbs of O’Fallon and Sauget, Ill. The parks exemplify what the Wendts say they want to build, with comfortable seating, unusual concession-stand offerings and comforts such as hot tubs available for rent by fans.
County commissioners said the parks impressed them, but none was sure the concept would work in Boone County.
In the month since the stadium tour, Gary Wendt has met once with Elkin to further discuss the plan. Wendt said he remains hopeful the commissioners will approve his plan but understands that a lack of community support could hurt the project.
The team has been a good corporate citizen, Wendt said, but has not hired the right on-field personnel.
"If we had a winning ball club, I think this process would be easier," he said. "Unfortunately we haven’t had that."
The Wendt brothers are also involved in
United League Baseball, an independent league scheduled to start play in 2006, Wendt said. He is dividing his time between Columbia and Texas, where the league is based, but said the new venture would not distract him from making the Mavericks successful.
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