“I wanna be in the room where it happens. We want our leaders to save the day …” — lyrics from the Broadway musical “Hamilton”
Hamilton County Commission Chair Jeff Eversole asked the Chamber of Commerce to convene an informational meeting for the county commission and Chattanooga City Council about the revised cost estimate for a new baseball stadium at the former Wheland Foundry site on South Broad Street.
The public notice in the newspaper announcing today’s meeting reads: “An update presentation on the South Broad District Redevelopment Project will be presented.” No mention of the word “stadium.” No mention of who will do the presentation. My guess is that most of the speakers will be consultants hired by the team owner and the property owners to make their case about why the project should go forward under the terms they have proposed.
Recent news reports showed that the 2022 cost estimate for the project has skyrocketed from $80 million-plus to $120 million-plus.
Stadium developers are asking the public to pick up the tab, the original $80 million bond (plus interest) and a new $40 million loan from the owners. The loan payback would likely be about $100 million once interest is added.