Will Columbus follow through on its Minor League Baseball venture? Tuesday vote set

Tim Chitwood
·4 min read

Columbus city leaders will take another swing Tuesday at proponents’ pitch that bringing Minor League Baseball back to town will spur millions in development around the Golden Park stadium downtown.

Columbus Council delayed a vote Feb. 13 on hiring construction company Brasfield & Gorrie to complete a $50 million renovation of the 1920s ballpark. The goal would be to have the stadium ready in about a year to host the Double-A Atlanta Braves affiliate by April 2025, for the season’s opening day.

Some councilors balked at approving a construction contract before city administrators told them how $50 million in bonds for the project would be financed.

Council so far has approved contract terms for Braves’ owner Diamond Baseball Holdings to lease the stadium, and it has voted to explore financing for the bond issue.

But it has not approved that financing, expected to cost about $4 million a year, because it has yet to be presented with the funding options. Raising property taxes was one possibility, and some councilors were reluctant to do that.

The baseball stadium was named for T.E. Golden of Golden’s Foundry, who chaired the city’s recreation board.
The baseball stadium was named for T.E. Golden of Golden’s Foundry, who chaired the city’s recreation board.

When it became clear two weeks ago that council would not approve the construction contract, City Manager Isaiah Hugley withdrew it from consideration.

The contract is back on the agenda for Tuesday, when council is to meet at 5:30 p.m. at the City Service Center off Macon Road. But no financing options are listed.

Mayor Skip Henderson, who has championed the baseball venture, did not respond to a text asking about the bond financing.

The mayor said Feb. 13 that he didn’t think a delay in approving the contract made much difference.

“I don’t think it does anything other than just make us wait a couple of weeks to get the information necessary for council,” he said. “Obviously we’re on a tight timeline. We want to make it move pretty quickly. ... It’s a big project. It’s a lot of money. We recognize that, and we’re trying to be extremely careful with how we take care of the citizens’ money.”

Construction crews were not going to start right away, he said.

“Obviously, without having approved the bonds yet, they couldn’t do a whole lot, because they’re not going to do work not knowing if they’re going to get the money. ... But to be ready in April 2025, we’ve got to get moving pretty quick,” Henderson said.

What needs to be done?

Asked what the work entails, Henderson said Golden Park has to be brought up to current building standards, with handicap-accessible dugouts, larger and more modern showers, and locker rooms for women, among other upgrades.

“And then of course they’re going to do some aesthetics to help them continue to make this a total fan experience,” he added. “There will probably be some open-air boxes, and they wanted I think a walk-through in the outfield. ... And then there are a lot things that need to be fixed just because Golden Park is the age it is.”

The park is thought to date back to 1926.

An emblem at Columbus’ Golden Park baseball stadium says it was built in 1926,
An emblem at Columbus’ Golden Park baseball stadium says it was built in 1926,

Council’s agenda says Brasfield & Gorrie has completed college and professional baseball facilities. The company would be working in Columbus with local firms Hecht Burdeshaw Architects and Moon Meeks and Associates Inc., according to council’s agenda.

Here are other projects the company has handled:

  • Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, from August 2014 to February 2017; 1,100,000 square feet and a $494 million final cost.

  • The University of Florida’s McKeithan Field in Gainesville, from February 2019 to June 2020; 141,470 square feet and a $54.7 million cost.

  • Columbus’ South Commons softball complex upgrades, from February 2019 to July 2019; 14,000 square feet at $3.2 million.

Would renovations be worth it?

Critics still doubt the city’s bet on baseball will pay off, questioning projections that it could draw up to $350 million in adjacent commercial and residential development.

Among the opponents is District 2 Councilor Glenn Davis, who played professional baseball for the Houston Astros before becoming a developer.

Davis said he doesn’t believe the economic projections are valid, and the city will be responsible for funding future ballpark improvements while it falls behind on maintaining other city recreational facilities, including the South Commons softball fields, the A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium, and the parks and Little League fields around town.

“If we cannot do the little things right, do you really think all of a sudden we’re going to do things right with a new baseball business coming to town?” he said.

The Golden Park 20-year lease terms approved by council require the city to provide money for maintaining the stadium, and state the baseball team may leave if the city fails to do that. The team would be moving to Columbus from Pearl, Mississippi, a Jackson suburb, after 20 years there.

Davis believes the city could wind up paying much more than $50 million to keep Golden Park in shape.

“We’re going to be on the hook for that,” he said, of the Braves affiliate adding, “and if not, they’re leaving.”

Former major league baseball player, and current Columbus city councilor Glenn Davis, seated left, signs autographs at Golden Park in Columbus, Georgia.
Former major league baseball player, and current Columbus city councilor Glenn Davis, seated left, signs autographs at Golden Park in Columbus, Georgia.