McKechnie Field to Get a Makeover

McKechnie Field will be all spruced up for its 90th birthday now that a deal has been signed among the county, city and tourism development officials that allows for nearly $8 million in renovations to the ball park.

The city is taking out a $7.5 million bond for the renovations to be paid back largely using taxes collected on tourism across the county. Inn return the Convention and Visitors Bureau will get $400,000 worth of promotions and tourism advertising in and around the Pittsburgh area.

Pittsburgh's Mayor is even talking about coming to Bradenton for spring training and may even participate in a golf tournament, Mayor Wayne Poston said Wednesday.

Trevor Gooby, senior director of Florida Operations, said that most of the money will be used for maintenance, new seats and to upgrade concessions and the sound system. The project also includes building a boardwalk around the stadium to give fans better access to the entire field. He expects work to begin in April and to be compleye for the park's 90th anniversary when he said there will be a big celebration.

The collaboration among Manatee County, the City and professional baseball is rare when it comes to major league sports. Typically municipalities don't like to provide a lot of public money for sports stadiums and when it comes to renovations or new stadiums professional teams have often asked for more than a city is willing to give and if they don't get it, they threaten to leave for a more generous locale. But it hasn't been that way in Bradenton where the last major renovation to the stadium took place 20 years ago.

The city has been in discussions with the Pirates about this latest round of renovations for about two years. The city has put off the renovations until it could find the money to pay for them in a floundering economy. The Pirates and its minor league team, the Bradenton Marauders, have been patient in waiting for the renovations to come.

"We're thrilled to continue to work with the city, the county and the" Tourism Development Council, Gooby said. "There are other teams that are envious of the relationship wie have with the city and county. It's a great partnership that we have."

And Gooby said the renovations are coming just in time to celebrate the ball park on it's 90th anniversary. McKechnie, built in 1923, is one of the oldest ball fields in the country. Only Fenway Park, built in 1912 is older, Gooby said.

"The money has driven the process," Carl Callahan, the city's treasurer told the City Council on Wednesday. "The Pirates would love to see $10 to $12 million for renovations, but that's not in the cards."

The idea Callahan said is to do some improvements for fans, but the greater goals is to make sure McKechnie lasts another 20 years. The money the city gets from the tourism tax will nearly pay off the debt that the city must take on to pay for renovations. In addition to tourism revenues, some revenues from the Community Redevelopment Agency will also be used to repay the bond.

While county officials are excited about the free tourism promotions, residents will have a greater abilitiy to use McKechnie Field when it is not being used for baseball. The park has already been opened for free Friday night films and some other events and festivals in recent months. The mission is to make it an even bigger tourism and entertainment draw for the county.

County Commission Chairman John Chappie had nothing but complments for the baseball team and the city in its efforts to bring tourists to Bradenton and the county and in its mission to continually improve Bradenton. Commissioners unanimously approved the interlocal agreement for funding the improvements on Tuesday.

In addition to maintaining McKechnie field, the investment is also designed to integrate the field with the community.

"We're putting more money in the community and more capital investment in McKechnie Field and the surroundign area," said City Councilmember Bemis Smith. "We need to make decisions based on compatibility and need to work with that area."