Goldeyes seek change to city lease so team can pursue provincial grants

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This article was published 31/05/2023 (329 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes Baseball Club is asking for two new changes to its city land lease, amid a municipal proposal to tweak the deal and finally get it over home plate.

On Thursday, the team’s legal representative said the organization needs to have Riverside Park Management, its non-profit entity, named as the lease holder to assist its post-pandemic recovery.

“COVID, of course, has created difficulty for all sorts of organizations and the Goldeyes are no different and they’re simply seeking access to… provincial grants,” Mark Newman told reporters after calling for the changes at a property and development committee meeting on Thursday.

Newman said changing the name on the lease, which is currently listed as the for-profit Winnipeg Goldeyes Baseball Club, would allow the team to qualify for provincial grants.

The Goldeyes also want the city to ramp up the amount they would be compensated if they lose parking stalls due to future rapid transit development. Newman said the city has proposed to offer compensation that starts at $50 per stall per year, while the company wants that to begin at $50 per stall per month.

Newman said it’s not clear if either measure would be a deal-breaker for the team, if council rejects it.

On Thursday, the property and development committee voted in favour of making a few small changes proposed by city staff to complete the lease, which clarify the primary use of the stadium to include hosting entertainment events, adjust the final year’s rent payments to December 2038 instead of July 2038 and refine the amount of parking that could be lost due to rapid transit. The committee did not add the changes the Goldeyes proposed, though the matter still awaits a full council vote.

“I think we’re pretty much on the same page. With respect to the sticking points, I do expect (the club) to come to delegation again,” said Coun. Sherri Rollins, council’s property and development chairwoman.

Council initially approved the lease following heated debate in 2020, amid fears the independent-league baseball team could leave the city if it didn’t come together.

The 15-year deal replaced a $1 annual rent with $25,000 for the first five years, $50,000 for the next five and $75,000 for the final five. The Goldeyes also secured annual grants to offset the ballpark’s entertainment tax and the municipal portion of property taxes until Dec. 31, 2038. Then-mayor Brian Bowman rejected that deal, arguing the team should have shared more financial information to justify the taxpayer-funded subsidy.

Council is expected to cast the final vote on the latest lease changes on June 22, while the Goldeyes’ existing lease expires on July 28.

Meanwhile, the property and development committee also approved several new measures meant to crack down on vacant and derelict buildings. Should council approve, the changes would ramp up security standards for buildings that have been set on fire or used by squatters, add four more bylaw enforcement officers to inspect the structures, add new inspection fees, list non-compliant vacant buildings online and streamline the residential demolition permit process.

The committee also approved a proposal to expropriate land south of Selkirk Avenue to become part of a $200-million Winnipeg Transit north garage, along with one purchased and one city plot, which also waits a final council vote.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga