Mudcats (owned by Brewers) Hoping For New Ballpark 25 Miles Away

[Mass Haas]

Back in August, we linked to a video report discussing Five County Stadium in relation to improvements needed by the 2025 season to comply with demands by MLB / MiLB to meet standards set at the time when there was consolidation across the minor league landscape. The remaining 120 teams entered ten-year agreements knowing these compliancy needs would have to be met.

At that time, it was unclear what costs the Brewers, who own the Mudcats, would have to pick up, if any.

Now we skip to February 2023, and the city of Wilson, North Carolina - about 25 miles east of the current ballpark home of Zebulon, is seriously exploring building a brand new ballpark (that would naturally meet the MLB requirements). Here is the city's own press release - City Council Approves Agreement to Consider Baseball Redevelopment Project

Some of the key takeaways in the links you can review below:

The council is looking to build a multi-purpose stadium without using taxpayer money by using private sector funding and other sources.

It does not appear the Brewers would be responsible for costs to build the stadium itself.

“We are encouraged by tonight’s announcement by the Wilson City Council that proposes building a stadium and surrounding development project that would serve as a new home for the affiliated baseball,” said Rick Schlesinger, Milwaukee Brewers President – Business Operations. “We are impressed with the vision of elected officials and City of Wilson administrators who have high interest in this project to reimagine the future of the community. A project of this nature and scope would have a significant economic impact on the area and create an extraordinarily valuable community asset.”

The City will be responsible for financing and constructing the venue according to MLB rules and regulations. The city would own the facility and lease it to the Mudcats and would have access to the facility for many types of uses when the Mudcats aren’t playing.

“One of the most important components of public-private partnerships is the quality of the partners,” said Goings. “We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Mudcats Baseball, the outstanding leadership team of the Milwaukee Brewers, and private development partners who share our City Council’s vision and commitment. “

While there is overlap in the reporting, you may find separate tidbits of info within each of the local news reports below, the first includes a brief video:

Wilson is about 45 miles from Raleigh, NC (which does not have a minor league baseball team but is a hotbed for college baseball). Zebulon is 20 miles from Raleigh.

There is currently a Coastal Plain League team (summer college wood-bat league) in Wilson, the Wilson Tobs (short for Tobacconists, dating back to 1908). The team plays in 84-year-old Fleming Stadium, which also hosts the North Carolina Baseball Museum.

The Tobs put out their own press release worth reviewing in full, it includes this rooted-in-recent-reality message:

With consistent energy generated from the modern-day Tobs, does a new downtown ballpark really need a professional team to succeed? Great question, and thankfully we have two test cases in our state for guidance. If Wilson’s pro baseball advocates believe that locating a pro team in a new downtown stadium is a recipe for success and instant residential ballpark development, they need to visit High Point and Gastonia, NC. Replacing CPL teams in favor of Minor League franchises in the last three years to spearhead downtown ballparks has resulted in both cities experiencing less than projected attendance and minimal ancillary development. The Tobs call to action is simple, invest in the brand that has stood the test of time and build a new ballpark for Wilson’s hometown team, “We Are Wilson.”

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On the surface, it appears the Brewers could end up the beneficiary of Wilson's move, would not be directly involved in stadium construction costs and would be the tenants of the new ballpark, obviously at the cost of the lease.

[Joseph Zarr]

Great post, Jim. This is all quite interesting to those of us who tune into Mudcats games on the regular. And, it is quite clear this entire stadium ordeal down yonder isn't all that simple (is it ever, anywhere?!). Thanks for sharing.

[Mass Haas]

Ballpark Digest with just a few more details here beyond the initial report.

[Mass Haas]