Stadium Proposal Scales Back Size, Price Tag

VENTURA —  After a month of closed-door negotiations, the city released a proposal Thursday evening for a scaled-back, $10.5-million minor league baseball stadium that would require the developer to pay for a special election to put the issue before the voters.

The newest plan to erect a Class A ballpark on the celery fields south of the Ventura Freeway near Johnson Drive reduces the scale and scope of the project significantly, and clearly separates the stadium project from any Ventura Auto Mall improvements.

The blending of stadium costs and long-overdue infrastructure improvements near the Ventura Auto Mall has muddled past stadium debates.

Council members said they were optimistic about progress made in the latest round of negotiations between developer John Hofer and City Manager Donna Landeros.

“I am much more amenable to supporting this than the $18.7-million project,” said Councilman Ray Di Guilio as he took his first look at the new proposal. “It meets most of the needs I have. It won’t denigrate our . . . budget.”

The latest plan slashes millions of dollars in stadium construction costs, reduces financial risk to the city and ensures that the public has input on pursuing the ambitious project through a referendum.

Under the new proposal, Ventura would pay only $10.5 million for the stadium instead of a hefty $18.7 million as proposed in September. An estimated $2.7 million for new lighting and curbs, and road improvements in the neighborhood will now be considered separately.

As before, Hofer would donate 20 acres of his own land for the stadium and parking. Costs also were cut by reducing the number of seats from 5,000 to 4,500 and by making the stadium itself less extravagant.

“The initial figures may have been a little--I don’t want to say inflated--value engineered,” Di Guilio said. “Things can be done more cheaply. For example, instead of a marble doorway, we might have cement.”

The proposal states that the city would pay to build the stadium with funds set aside for the fairground and from various city reserves. Hofer would pay for any costs over and above $10.5 million.

To help defray costs to the city, Hofer would also make payments to Ventura to reimburse it for interest it would lose by taking the money out of its reserves. The city is discussing having the developer pay annual interest of about 5.5%--comparable to what Ventura currently earns on its investment portfolio. The amount would gradually increase over 25 years to 8%.

Any annual rent charged for use of the stadium would cover these payments, according to the plan. In the September proposal, Hofer offered to pay the city $300,000 annually to lease the stadium for the first five years, and $330,000 for the subsequent 15.

After a quarter century, Hofer would have the option to buy the stadium from the city at a yet-to-be-determined price.

To ensure a minor league team will not abandon Ventura if its crowds become scarce, Hofer enterprises would own a controlling interest in the team. Hofer would also cover all operation and maintenance costs for stadium upkeep.

“John would be the majority owner of the team,” said Councilman Jim Friedman. “That is done so the city has some guarantee that the team will stay here--so that if anything goes wrong, the person who loses would be John.”

Most importantly, construction would not begin before the public had a chance to vote on the project next spring. Hofer has agreed to pay the costs of a special election, which usually run about $70,000. After spending this weekend mulling over the latest figures, council members will discuss the stadium proposal at Monday’s council meeting.

“I said before that I wasn’t going to support this project unless the developer sharpened his pencil,” Friedman said. “Well, the developer has definitely sharpened his pencil. But I will have to wait and study it and see if this is really something I could vote for.”

If the plan receives council and voter approval, the first pitch could sail over home plate in April 1998.

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City’s Pitch

* A scaled-down stadium plan would cost the city $10.5 million, instead of $18.7 million.

* The plan would come before the voters in a spring special election paid for by the developer.

* Negotiations over approximately $2.7 million in road and utility improvements to provide better access to the Ventura Auto Mall would go forward regardless of the stadium’s status.