No. 2: City purchases Hammons Field in $16M deal to retain SGF Cardinals

The city of Springfield signaled in a big way this year that sports tourism will be an ongoing factor in the Queen City’s growth.

The municipality closed March 27 on the purchase of Hammons Field, the home of the Springfield Cardinals, from the John Q. Hammons Charitable Trust. The purchase was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Kansas, a required move because the Hammons Trust and the municipality were involved in an ongoing bankruptcy proceeding that involves a development agreement with the city.

Through the purchase agreement, the city agreed to pay $6.5 million for the ballpark and $5.5 million for two nearby parking lots, with $4 million slated for repairs to the park.

The stadium has been home to the Springfield Cardinals, the Minor League Baseball Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, since 2004, and the city’s decision-making this year is seen as a move to keep the team from relocating elsewhere amid a need for stadium upgrades. The Major League Baseball team has agreed to keep the Springfield Cardinals in the Queen City through 2038 in the deal with the city.

“We have the Double-A franchise of the most popular Major League team in the Midwest. They add a vibrancy, excitement and level of entertainment as well as foster a great degree of community pride,” Mayor Ken McClure said at the time the Hammons Field deal closed. “Having a Major League club own its Minor League affiliate is very rare. We plan to be the home to the Springfield Cardinals for generations to come.”

Hammons Field also is home to the Missouri State University Bears, and city officials have said that more events could be coming to the stadium.

The city has a lease arrangement with the Springfield Cardinals calling for the team to pay the city an annual rental fee of $650,000, to increase by 3% annually. Some $300,000 will be deposited annually into a city-owned operating fund to be used for team operations and the other $350,000 to be deposited into a city-owned capital fund for park repairs and improvements. At the end of the 15-year lease, any remaining funds will belong to the city.

Also this year, Missouri’s General Assembly approved $4 million for the city to conduct ballpark renovations at Hammons Field.

The Hammons Field purchase was welcomed by Cardinals officials, who spoke to its importance when the deal first was announced in February.

“Having professional baseball is something we show off,” Springfield Cardinals General Manager Dan Reiter said at the time. “When companies are recruiting executives, they try to bring them to Hammons Field. … Hammons Field is quality of place and makes our community better.”

Among those who spoke in favor of the deal was Josh Kinney, a former pitcher for both the Springfield and St. Louis Cardinals.

“I think I played in every state that has a baseball stadium, and as far as the Minor League parks, hands down, this was the best one,” he said. “There was nothing that compared to Hammons Field as far as the quality and experience that you could get as a player.”

At the February announcement, McClure additionally read remarks that were sent in by Gov. Mike Parson.

Parson said, in part, that the “investment is not only a win for sports fans but means economic opportunities for business and the people in southwest Missouri.”