Tonight, the Kannapolis City Council took the next step in the Downtown Revitalization Project by formally approving the construction of the Sports & Entertainment Venue, a new 30-year lease with Temerity Baseball, LLC, (the new owners of the Kannapolis Intimidators, pending the expected final South Atlantic League and Baseball approvals in mid-October) and authorizing the sale of limited obligation bonds for the project.
“Three years ago, we began envisioning the future of our downtown. We have researched and consulted with many professionals from around the country and the conclusion has always been that we need a catalyst project which will bring investment and life back to our downtown. The Sports & Entertainment Venue is the catalyst we need to ensure the success of our vision,” said Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant. “This is an asset which will continue to bring long-term investments to our City for decades.”
“This is the right choice for Kannapolis. The momentum of this facility has already garnered commitments of $128 million in investments in our downtown including apartments, a brewery, restaurants, office space and potentially a hotel. We have spoken to hundreds of business owners and developers and we have heard repeatedly without the SEV this investment would not be happening,” commented Kannapolis City Manager Mike Legg.
“As a lifelong baseball player and fan, I look forward to partnering with the City of Kannapolis in bringing a great baseball and entertainment experience to the City. Our Temerity team is all in on Kannapolis,” said Andy Sandler, Chairman of Temerity Baseball.
The $52 million Sports and Entertainment Venue (SEV) will be located at the corner of West Avenue and Laureate Way. Construction will begin in October and will be completed in time for the April 2020 opening game of the Kannapolis Intimidators. The venue is designed to also be the home of various other activities such as concerts, a public park with restrooms, 6,000 square feet of event/meeting space, a kid’s zone and more.
The stadium will have a seating capacity of 4,930 with 3,218 of those being fixed seats. Other seating options will include luxury suites, a party deck, berm seating, dugout box seats, a picnic terrace, an outfield bar, right field boxes and 6,000 square feet of club/banquet space.
Five Cabarrus/Rowan companies had qualifying bids and will work on the project:
Wayne Brothers – Concrete
Ike’s Construction – Millwork/Casework
Bonitz – Flooring
AAC Enterprise – Toilet Partitions, Accessories & Specialties
ProMats – Baseball Specialties
The council also approved a 30-year lease with Temerity Baseball, LLC. These approvals include provisions that the team: will remain in Kannapolis, will continue to use Kannapolis in the team name, manage events/games, including concessions, maintain and make repairs to the facility, must operate a “first class” operation, split the costs of some utilities with the City, allow the City to use the SEV for eight events annually and have access to a suite, and give the City 25% of all concessions sold at City sponsored events. The team will pay the City $450,000 for the first three years of the lease and an increase of $35,000 every three years.
The agreements also specify that the City will provide the team with 50 designated parking spaces in downtown and space for team administration, a ticket office, and a team store.
The next step in the process includes the City receiving formal approval from the Local Government Commission for the sale of the limited obligation bonds which is expected to be in early October.
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