Padres affiliate may be on move
Escondido, team in talks for minor league ballpark
By J. Harry Jones, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 10:24 p.m.
An ownership group led by Padres CEO Jeff Moorad is close to signing a deal that calls for the team to move its affiliated Class AAA franchise to a 9,000-seat ballpark in Escondido, to be built by the city for $45 million.
If the memorandum of understanding is finalized, Escondido would agree in principle to build the ballpark on city-owned property — mostly vacant land used partly as a public-works yard — just east of Interstate 15 and just south of state Route 78. It also would hand over to the Padres all money from concession sales and naming rights for the facility.
The ballpark would be home to the team now called the Portland Beavers, which Moorad would buy and move from Oregon.
In return, Escondido’s leaders hope the investment would act as the catalyst for redevelopment of the entire area southwest of the freeway interchange. They envision new condominiums, shops and restaurants in a zone currently characterized by older, often vacant buildings and a swap meet that city officials have been eager to replace for years.
Negotiations could hinge on how the ballpark is financed. One proposal is for the city to sell bonds that would be repaid with property-tax revenues that the city’s redevelopment agency is expected to generate over the next 26 years. Interest payments on the project could push the final bill to $90 million.
A flurry of meetings Tuesday did not result in an agreement, as certain Escondido officials had thought it would, partly because some of the decision-makers expressed hesitation at the cost. Escondido has laid off workers and curtailed services in recent years amid budget deficits brought on by declining sales-tax revenue.
City Manager Clay Phillips said he thinks the memo of understanding will be struck, probably within the next two weeks. The City Council could then hold a public hearing and approve a more detailed proposal by the end of summer, and the ballpark could be built in two years.
“We’re waiting to see if Jeff (Moorad) buys the team,” Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said. “I think it’s pretty exciting. It’s pretty doable.”
She said the upfront expense is justified because of the development it would bring to the blighted area.
Councilman Sam Abed, who is running for mayor, said he is concerned about the cost.
“We need to really take a bit of time to study the economic impact on the city because it would use a substantial amount of redevelopment funds,” he said. “We need to make sure the investment is worthwhile. I am looking for a reasonable subsidy and a reasonable return on our investment.”
Abed said he is not opposed to bringing the Beavers to Escondido because the move could benefit the city — as long as the agreement is not so “front-loaded” toward the Padres’ interests.
Moorad and other Padres officials haven’t responded to inquiries for the past week.
Escondido has hired Charles Black to assist in negotiating terms with the baseball team. Black helped broker the deal for Petco Park and was recently hired by San Diego to help with plans for a new City Hall and an expansion of the San Diego Convention Center.
Dick Daniels, an Escondido councilman and mayoral candidate, said the council has not decided anything but is excited about the possibilities.
“If we can put it together in a way that makes sense, we will,” he said. “We’re preparing to move very quickly in the event it becomes a reality.”
Daniels said the ballpark not only would provide an entertainment venue for the community, but also be “the big bang we need to create something in that area to spur development.”
The Beavers have been looking for a new home and owner since 2008, when officials in Portland decided to convert the ballpark into a soccer-only stadium. Efforts to get Portland to build the team a new venue failed.
The Padres have contracts with various Beaver players but do not own the franchise. The Padres are expected to buy the business if they follow through on the partnership with Escondido. The Beavers likely would play the 2011 season in Lake Elsinore, where the Padres’ Class A club, the Lake Elsinore Storm, is stationed.
In the spring, the Padres had announced that they wanted to move the Beavers franchise to northern San Diego County. Carlsbad, San Marcos and Escondido were mentioned as potential locations. El Paso, Texas, also has expressed interest in the Portland team.
Escondido officials said their city became the front-runner when the concept of a ballpark district came together a few months ago.
Few major league franchises have a minor league team located so close — Escondido is about 30 miles north of Petco Park — but some sports analysts believe the arrangement could work.
“It could increase interest in baseball across the board,” said Scott Minto, director of the sports MBA program at San Diego State University. “Minor league baseball is a different price point. It could increase viewership and fandom of the parent club.”
Minto said the Class AAA Pawtucket Red Sox team in Rhode Island is situated only about 45 miles from Boston, yet the Red Sox have no problem filling Fenway Park.
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