Former Pensacola mayoral candidate C.J. Lewis has his own mythology on the multi-use stadium at the Community Maritime Park.
In his comments under my analysis of the Elebash viewpoint, Lewis writes:
“For those unfamiliar with ‘organized baseball,’ Pelicans are not one of the teams in Minor League Baseball.”…. Attack without substance. Pelicans are full members of the American Association. One of their former players is on the NY Yankee roster. If the stadium had been completed by 2010, the city and the team would have hosted their league’s all star game.
Of course, Lewis wasn’t here for the great CMP referendum, but the voters approved the multi-use stadium over two years ago. The voters. That is what Lewis, Elebash and others want all of us to ignore. The old Save Our City crowd can’t accept defeat.
Could Studer build the stadium – multi-use or not – for the Pelicans? Yes. His financial commitment to the CMP project – when you include the $2.25 million donation to the museum, life insurance policy ($600,000 in premiums over ten years), guarantees of Pelican profits to go to CMPA ($1.25 million), 10-year lease of the stadium and his $12 million office building at the park – would build a more than adequate park for his team.
BUT – we wouldn’t have much of project on the water. We would have another empty space that does little for our economy or tax base. Because the Studers are willing to invest in Pensacola at such a high level, the city will get a multi-use, waterfront stadium, a maritime museum, an office building that pays taxes and brings more people downtown. This is no free ride for Quint Studer or the Pelicans.
And the Pensacola voters approved this project with the stadium…which really burns these guys. They couldn’t get the majority of the citizens to veto this project.
It’s great that Lewis has his own plans for the 23-acres, but the citizens have already made the decision what to do with the land. It’s up to the city council and the CMPA board to figure out how to build it. Costs for the public sector have gone up —when it takes three years to break ground, cost increases are normal. However, the bond commitment isn’t any greater than originally approved.
Let’s quit reliving the past and digging up old arguments. Let’s build the park!