Tennessee State Comptroller Jason Mumpower gave his conditional approval for the plan to build the new South Broad District in Chattanooga, which includes the Chattanooga Lookouts’ new stadium.
In a letter to Attorney Mamantov, Comptroller Mumpower stated that the final contract is in the best interest of the city if it includes a commitment to make annual lease payments of at least one million dollars for the next 30 years and if all excess tax revenues will be used for eligible purposes, The Chattanoogan reported.
In August, the Chattanooga City Council approved the $100 million project, which is centered around the Lookouts relocating from AT&T Field.
At a press conference in June, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said, “For more than two decades, these 140 acres around us have sat vacant as a sad, rusting reminder of our wasted potential. There have been no less than eight studies conducted on this site since 2003, but despite that, our western gateway has remained a blighted brownfield doing absolutely nothing to increase jobs, tourism, or quality of life for our residents.”
In May, state lawmakers passed sales tax funding which allowed the Chattanooga Lookouts to move to the new stadium while retaining the sales tax deal where they keep the first 5.5 percent of the state’s 7 percent sales tax for the sales that are made at the stadium and extended the deal to apply to all events held at the stadium.
The current stadium of the Lookouts is in need of updates and repair, causing Major League Baseball to threaten removing the Lookouts’ license if AT&T Field was not up to standards, The Tennessee Star reported in July.
Managing Owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, Jason Freier, said at the time, “Major League Baseball only cares about the physical facility that the players are playing in. In the physical facility, we had a problem with everything from the field to lighting to batting cages to bullpens to clubhouses. If you saw the list, it’s probably close to 100 violations.”
In the letter to Attorney Mamantov, Comptroller Mumpower reportedly requested that evidence that the two conditions would be met, and expressed that he will issue his final determination letter following the compliance.
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Kaitlyn Osteen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Send Kaitlyn news tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Chattanooga Skyline” by James Pressley. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Once again Government making bad situations worse. Building entertainment venues is not now nor has it ever been a function of government. Facilitating others to do so is. Hundreds of these failed models of government great ideas have wasted untold billions of dollars. There is not a reasonable ROI for investment of the public trust. That is why owners, developers and politicians insist that someone else pay for it. Wake up people.
How many people attend Lookouts games again?
They are ramming this down the throats of Chattanooga taxpayers. It wont cost a thing! sure