Dave McMillionThe Herald-Mail
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Despite laying out a possible scenario Tuesday of a plan for a sports stadium in Hagerstown dying on the vine, Maryland Stadium Authority officials on Wednesday said they are confident they will get past a hurdle in the project.
The situation came to light during a stadium authority meeting Tuesday afternoon at the Warehouse at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The authority is heading up the multimillion-dollar Hagerstown project.
Those involved in the project say building a 5,000-seat stadium between Summit Avenue and Baltimore Street requires acquisition of D&P Coin Operated Laundry at 140 Summit Ave., a former Washington County government building at 80 W. Baltimore St., and Auto Spa and Lube Center at 32 W. Baltimore St.
Project officials say the laundromat and the county building have been acquired, but the car wash has not. A former Herald-Mail Media building at 100 Summit Ave. was purchased previously for the stadium.
What happens if the car wash is not acquired?
During a livestream broadcast of Tuesday's stadium authority meeting, an authority official outlined tense negotiations underway between owners of the car wash - Auto Spa and Lube Center - and the authority.
"It's been pretty hot and heavy," Al Tyler, vice president of a capital projects group for the authority, told authority members. "We need to have a successful negotiation."
Tyler told authority members the project cannot proceed without the car wash and he said in a follow-up phone interview with Herald-Mail Media the next day that failure to acquire it could kill the stadium plan.
Tyler was asked during the authority meeting if negotiations with the car wash could be extended. Tyler said it's impossible to grant a long-term extension of negotiations because of a tight timeline for the project. He said a resolution must be reached this month.
Tyler also rejected another idea brought up during the meeting of possibly redesigning the stadium if the car wash can't be acquired.
"We'd have to put the project on hold," Tyler said, outlining what would happen if the acquisition is not possible.
Tyler and Gary McGuigan, executive vice president of the authority, said in Wednesday's phone interview that the authority is confident it will reach a deal with the car wash, which is owned by WLR Property Management Inc. in Frederick, Md.
Tyler said negotiations between the two sides started last year and have been ongoing every couple of weeks recently. State highway officials and lawyers were involved in the talks, but the efforts evolved into face-to-face negotiations between WLR Property Management and the authority, and the progress has been good, Tyler and McGuigan said.
McGuigan said he anticipates wrapping up a deal within a couple weeks.
A spokeswoman for WLR Property Management on Wednesday said the company is not in a position to make a comment. It might be able to in a couple weeks, she said.
Close to $70 million in state funds have been allocated for the stadium, which is expected to become the home of a new Atlantic League of Professional Baseball team for Hagerstown. It's also anticipated that the stadium would be used for events like concerts and festivals.
Stadium authority members have anticipated completing the stadium by mid-2024, and Tyler said Wednesday that timetable remains. He expects a proposed design to be unveiled early next year.
A new minor league baseball team for the city was born when the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball approved a franchise expansion request from a local group known as Downtown Baseball LLC.The ownership group is led by Howard “Blackie” Bowen, Don Bowman, James Holzapfel and Frank Boulton.
Bowen said previously that if the stadium is not completed by the time the 2024 baseball season starts for the new team, perhaps it can play some away games until the facility opens.
Who is going to build the stadium?
The stadium authority earlier selected Turner Construction Company to be the contractor for the stadium. Turner is an international construction company that specializes in large, complex projects, according to the company's website. Sports stadiums is part of its experience, and it has been involved in work at top sports venues such as Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden and the Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District, according to Turner's website.
During their meeting Tuesday, stadium authority members approved a $7 million contract with Turner Construction to begin work at the site. It will pay for the start of demolition and extending utilities to the property. The work will probably begin in the mid- to the latter part of next month, Tyler said.
There's been hesitation about whether the former Herald-Mail Media building will remain, but Tyler said it is now evident that there's no need to remove it. It's anticipated it will be separated from the rest of the site and put on the market, he said.
Greg Snook, the president and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County Industrial Foundation, which has been involved in the project, said he continues to show the building to interested parties. Snook said groups are looking at it and have been under the realization that its future was unknown. Tyler said it's an attractive building given it will sit next to the stadium's left field.
"It's got good bones. It just needs general updating," Snook said.
How is the project impacting the Cultural Trail?
The city has started to prepare for the stadium by working on its Hagerstown Cultural Trail at the site. The trail is part of a downtown revitalization and it extends from Hagerstown City Park, through the stadium site and across Washington Street toward a building where a private developer is planning a brewery, distillery, winery and cidery.
City and project officials say they still anticipate the trail will be a main access to the stadium for pedestrians once they park in town.
City Engineer Rodney Tissue said RISE, a metal sculpture that was installed along the trail at the stadium site was recently removed by the artist who created it.
"All that was paid for by the stadium project," Tissue said. He said the sculpture was moved to a city property in an industrial park on Eldridge Drive for storage until a new site for it is determined.
The city will undertake more work on the trail at the stadium site this month by removing lights, trash receptacles and benches. Then that section of the trail will come under the control of the stadium authority, Tissue said.
Will I be facing traffic delays downtown when the stadium is built?
City and project officials say Hood Street, a short street between Baltimore Street and Summit Avenue, will be closed for stadium construction.
Beyond that, Tyler said he doesn't anticipate that people living near the stadium site on streets like Summit Avenue will have to endure any major street closures when the stadium is being built. He said they shouldn't see anything more than typical traffic delays when such a project is underway.
