Hammons plans groundbreaking for stadium

Come August, John Q. Hammons intends for construction to start on a 10,000-seat baseball stadium in downtown Springfield and he doesn't care if it makes money or not.

"I'm going to do it for the city, win, lose or draw," Hammons said.

The question is, if he builds it, will a team come?

Hammons stated in February that he would announce the name of the AA League team to play in the stadium within two weeks. But the AA League's central office in St. Petersburg, Fla., hasn't been contacted by any of its franchises wanting to relocate to Springfield, according to Jim Ferguson, director of media relations for the league, "and they have to come to us to move a team."

A month ago, Hammons told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the St. Louis Cardinals plans to locate its farm team here, but nothing could be announced until next year.

Mark Lamping, Cardinals president, said May 22 that his team doesn't intend to buy a team to move here, but, "I have a pretty high level of confidence in capitalism. If there is a great marketplace that has a great ballpark, I'm sure somebody will figure out a way to get a team there."

He added that the Springfield area "is one of the strongest markets in the country that doesn't have an affiliated AA League team." Lamping described this area as a "wonderful marketplace" and the Cardinals "would love to have a team there."

But there are two factors out of Lamping's control, he said the ballpark needs to be built and someone needs to find an AA League team and move it here.

"A lot of people might be thinking, How can I get a team here?' especially if they hear that the Cardinals might be interested in affiliating with that team," Lamping said. The AA League would be stronger with a team in the Springfield market, he added.

The Cardinals aren't actively seeking a team to move here, Lamping said, but he is keeping an ear close to the ground.

Neither Tom Kayser, president of the Texas League, nor Don Mincher, president of the Southern League, has had any contact with Hammons or the Cardinals, each confirmed May 21.

Whoever brings a team to Springfield has significant hurdles to go over, Kayser said, the first of which is to find a team.

He said to "trust my instincts" that no AA teams were for sale in the Texas League. Many are under long-term contracts with the cities that house them because of new stadiums or facilities that have been renovated for the teams. And it would cost between $5 million and $8 million to buy a team in his league, he said.

A team can't just be created out of thin air. Major League Baseball would have to expand, and that's not going to happen in the immediate future, Kayser said.

Each of the 30 Major League teams can have only one AAA team and one AA team. So Minor League Baseball has 30 teams and three leagues, Texas, Southern and Eastern.

Minor League Baseball is called "affiliated baseball," Kayser added, as opposed to independent baseball, like the Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks. "They go do their own thing. It's a completely different structure."

The Major League teams have two- to four-year player development contracts with the stadium owner or operator. Teams provide field people, managers and players, and the stadium own-er or operator provides facilities.

The Cardinals have a two-year player development contract with the New Haven, Conn., franchise in the Eastern League. However, Kayser said, even if that team were to move here, it would be expensive for it to play out of Springfield because the games are on the East Coast. Such a move "wouldn't be well-received," Kayser added. Besides, "you can't look at where the nearest team is. You must look at the league as a whole from Springfield to North Carolina ... that's a long doggone way."

Minor League Baseball has a "500-mile" rule, Kayser said. If the game is more than 500 miles way, the team has to fly or get a waiver from the team they are playing or take a day off to travel by bus. The closest Eastern League team is in Akron, Ohio, Kayser said.

The Southern League has similar travel issues because its teams are located in Tennessee, Florida, North and South Carolina, and Alabama. Adding Springfield to the Southern League "would be adding a lot of costs to teams" in that league, Kayser said.

"Mr. Hammons is just not understanding the process ... the Cardinals do not control the (franchise). The Cards have to go where there's a team, which is why they had to end up in New Haven." And, he added, "somebody has to want them, which is why they were put out of Little Rock."

He added that the Cardinals may want to be back in the Texas League "from a developmental standpoint."

Kayser said he would "dearly love" to see a facility built here, but with a move, "a lot of paperwork ... has to be filed. It's a three- to six-month process just to get all the paperwork if they found a club for sale that has wheels on its lease that allows them to move when it's over."

Once a team is found, the league has to approve the move and then an affiliation with a Major League ballclub has to be established, Kayser said.

The owner would have to show that he is financially able to operate a club and able to remain solvent "if things don't go well."

Only one team in his league could be a distant possibility the Shreveport, La., team, recently purchased by the Mandolay Sports Entertainment group. But the owners are billionaires who own five other pro teams and don't have a history of quick team turnover, Kayser said.

Springfield has agreed to issue the bonds to build the stadium that Hammons and his wife, Juanita, will guarantee when issued. If a baseball team doesn't locate here, or if it doesn't make money, the bonds still have to be repaid.

"Mr. Hammons is financing baseball," reiterated City Attorney Howard Wright. "He is guaranteeing the bonds." However, the developer agreement between the Hammonses, their living trust and the city states that the bonds will be retired under a sublease and operating agreement that encompasses the stadium, the trade center and the exposition center.

The future of the last two projects is still up in the air since the city was unsuccessful in its bid to capture half the state sales tax revenue generated in the redevelopment project areas of the TIF District to help pay the costs of a parking garage.

The city has determined that increased parking is necessary for the development of the baseball stadium and the proposed multipurpose arena.

A 950-space parking garage was to be built on the site of the old Sears parking garage, next door to University Plaza Trade Center, which the Hammonses agreed to give to the city in exchange for forgiveness of an $800,000 debt that they still owe in relation to a development grant for the University Plaza complex.

As an incentive, the Hammon-ses were given the right to receive all revenues from the operations of the baseball stadium the rights to license all events, make or license all concession sales, sell or license all advertising and broadcasting rights, sell tickets or license that right to others, sell or license to others the naming rights and the right to promote events.

Should an AA team not appear, then the Southwest Missouri State University Baseball Bears will have a fine new stadium to play in unfettered by another team's schedule. But they better start winning games, Hammons quipped, "or I might not let them play."