Bears eye opening day for stadium plans
May 25, 2010 by Roger Underwood
YAKIMA, Wash. — Though the plan is neither etched in stone nor written in indelible ink, the Bears hope to have a conceptual design for a new stadium by the time the Northwest League team opens its season on June 18.
General manager K.L. Wombacher said Tuesday that the new ballpark would be located on a 10-acre site in the southwest corner of the old Boise Cascade mill site which has been donated to the club.
“That’s our goal,” Wombacher said. “Our consultants have been a little bit behind on things, but they’ve been given that date and we think they can hit it.”
To help in their planning the Bears have hired Mike Thiessen of the Madison Group, a New York-based consulting firm that deals with sports and entertainment.
Best-case scenarios, Wombacher said, would find the Bears with a private-public funding plan within three to six months for a facility he estimates will cost $20 to $25 million.
Construction would begin during the first three months of 2011 with play starting the 2012 season.
Wombacher was quick to emphasize that while the Bears’ lease of Yakima County Stadium runs through 2015, the team will honor the arrangement.
“We will meet our lease obligations no matter what,” Wombacher said. “We’ve made that known with people at the fairgrounds.”
The Bears have sought to replace 16-year-old Yakima County Stadium, located at State Fair Park, since a feasibility study last year characterized it as being substandard regarding playing amenities and revenue producing potential.
Filed under All, Pros, Yakima Bears/NWL
