El Paso Times: Downtown El Paso ballpark groundbreaking today

It'll be a brand-new game for Downtown El Paso after the silver- and gold-colored spades hit the ground today at the site of the new baseball stadium, said Branch Rickey, president of the Pacific Coast League.

"It's a pretty big thing," said Rickey, who'll be among about 500 people expected at the ballpark's official groundbreaking ceremony this morning. "Until the first spade is in the ground, everything is theoretical. This is the step that really causes the credibility factor to jump off the scale."

Rickey will be joined by local elected officials and civic and business leaders, representatives of Minor and Major League Baseball, the San Diego Padres and members of MountainStar Sports Group, the investors who bought the Tucson Padres last year. The public was also invited to attend by reserving free tickets online. All of the available tickets were reserved in less than two days.

The Tucson team is expected to relocate to El Paso for the 2014 season and will take on a new name and a new brand.

El Paso will become one of only 30 Triple-A cities in the nation, and its team will play in the Pacific Coast League. The PCL has 16 teams, including the Padres, Albuquerque Isotopes, Round Rock Express, Reno Aces and Sacramento River Cats.

Rickey said the PCL lineup -- including in which division El Paso's team will play -- should be announced within 30 days. The 2014 schedule will be presented to the league in July, Rickey said, and approval is expected by mid-August.

"Those of us who work behind the scenes know it really starts when somebody invests the money into a team and a site for a (ballpark) is acquired," Rickey said in a phone interview with the El Paso Times. "But with this (groundbreaking) event, it becomes palatable. Already there's a combination of excitement to have it open -- and the pressure to get it done."

The groundbreaking comes almost a year after the City Council first agreed to build the stadium if

MountainStar investors acquired a Triple-A minor league baseball team.

The plans were immediately met with applause from supporters who say the ballpark will boost Downtown's revitalization and the city's quality of life -- as well as with petitions, lawsuits and recall efforts from opponents, who argue city leaders rushed the project and should have allowed voters to decide where to build the stadium.

Critic Salvador Gomez, who petitioned heavily against the demolition of City Hall to make room for the ballpark, said today will not be a celebration for him and others who felt their voices were was ignored.

'To me, it's a depressing moment," Gomez said and added that he hopes the ballpark is successful despite his beliefs otherwise. "But I just don't see it happening. I think down the road the ballpark Downtown will prove to be an economic failure."

The ballpark is already under construction where the former City Hall stood. The city building was torn down April 16 when 400 pounds of dynamite imploded it in less than 10 seconds. The nearby Insights El Paso Science Center was demolished with cranes and bulldozers weeks before that.

"The demolitions to me marked the end of an era, and the groundbreaking will mark the beginning of a new one," said insurance sales manager Jerry Rios, who was among a few hundred people who signed up for tickets to attend the ceremony today.

"Just the fact that we'll have people in from Major League Baseball and the Pacific Coast League is a big deal to me as a baseball fan," Rios said, "and I want them to know how welcome they are here."

Retired math teacher Marco Rincon said he has mixed feelings about the groundbreaking and the ballpark, and added that he hopes time -- and a full stadium built on time and on budget -- will unite a divided community.

"It's a bittersweet moment for many of us, though mostly bitter," Rincon said. "This could have and should have been done very differently and had much more support and public buy-in. Hopefully (city leaders) will work harder to accomplish that."

Ticktock

The city took a major step regarding the ballpark's financing on Tuesday, when the City Council voted to sell $52.8 million in bonds to finance the stadium. The bonds will be repaid with hotel occupancy taxes, stadium lease payments, ticket surcharges and parking fees.

But even that wasn't without controversy, as city representatives admonished city managers and engineers for not better communicating with them about a proposed change to the stadium's construction contract.

City leaders withdrew requests to increase the stadium's construction contract by $10 million by bundling $5 million in previously approved street and sidewalk projects into it and adding a $5 million contingency for unexpected costs.

City engineers said the contingency may be needed to build the ballpark as it's currently designed, although true costs won't be known for at least another month.

The plans now call for a four-level ballpark with about 7,000 seats and a capacity of close to 9,500 with lawn seating and other spaces. The ballpark will resemble the nearby Union Depot and other historic Downtown buildings.

The PCL's Rickey said the clock is ticking.

"There's not enough ticks on the clock for what we would like to have ordinarily," he said. "It's going to be a tight timeline, but everything is doable."

Rickey said the city has been "first class" in working to bring the team to El Paso and building it a ballpark to call home. He said it's not unusual to encounter challenges along the way, and he still believes there will be PCL baseball in El Paso next season.

Building excitement

Despite the controversy, Alan Ledford, president of MountainStar Sports Group, said the community response has been more than encouraging.

"El Pasoans have gone beyond our expectations in participation when it comes to making the team their own," Ledford said.

More than 4,500 entries have been submitted to MountainStar for its contest to name the team, and thousands have signed up to reserve season tickets, Ledford said. He would not disclose how many ticket reservations have been made.

"Similar events in other cities haven't approached these numbers," he said. "El Paso's enthusiasm for this team and this ballpark is outstanding. They're not just submitting names, but explaining why, and that's evidence of an emotional attachment already."

Last week, MountainStar launched a project asking the public to participate in small group discussions about what they'd prefer in and expect of the ballpark. The panels will include people who signed up online to receive email updates on the team and the stadium.

"The objective is to get a good mix of representation from families, single folks, baseball fans, non-baseball fans, business owners, male, females, people of all ages and walks of life," Ledford said.

Also in the works is lining up corporate sponsors, including naming rights to the baseball stadium.

Ledford said several companies have expressed interest in naming rights or becoming founding partners, including local companies with regional or national reach. An announcement could come in the next few months, Ledford added.

For his part, Rickey said he's excited to see El Paso on the league's roster that spans three time zones.

"It's wonderful to have teams in that kind of geography for a league rather than adding teams out in the perimeter," Rickey said. "We're all excited. This is a breath of fresh air for the Pacific Coast League, and we can't wait for the first pitch there in El Paso."

Cindy Ramirez may be reached at [email protected]; 546-6151.

Key dates in bringing Triple-A baseball to El Paso:

2012

May 8: MountainStar Sports Group files as a limited liability company with the Texas Secretary of State.

June 26: El Paso City Council votes 6-2 to approve a term sheet with MountainStar outlining preliminary terms of a lease contract, and agreeing to build a $50 million ballpark at City Hall site if investors acquire a Triple-A minor league team.

July 30: Pacific Coast League Executive Committee announces approval of MountainStar's Preliminary Application Review for purchase of the Tucson Padres.

Sept. 17: PCL approves sale of Tucson Padres to MountainStar, pending approval of a lease contract by City Council.

Sept. 18: City Council votes 4-3 to approve a contract with MountainStar, as well as ballpark development and non-relocation agreements.

Oct. 11: MountainStar announces final acquisition of Tucson Padres.

2013

Jan. 8: City awards C.F. Jordan Construction/ Hunt Construction Group the $40 million construction manager-at-risk to build the ballpark.

Jan. 21: MountainStar Sports Group begins taking reservations for season tickets.

March 11: Demolition of Insights El Paso Science Center begins.

March 29: City Hall offices and employees relocation completed. City Hall is vacated and considered a construction zone.

April 14: City Hall is imploded in under 10 seconds.

Today: Official Downtown ballpark groundbreaking.