With the new Blaze ball park announcement, there's a lot of buzz from people wondering if any tax dollars are going to help pay for the $20 million stadium and what impact the stadium will have on the local economy.
The empty eyesore at Coffee and Brimhall Roads might be Bakersfield's field of dreams. In 2014, the area will start being filled in phases with retail and restaurants at The Commons, and a brand new Blaze ball park. The city will reap the rewards without putting a penny into it.
"It is purely a private sector investment, and they have not asked the city for any kind of subsidy whatsoever," said Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy.
Tandy says the city considered publicly funding a new ball park years ago, but that didn't happen. He says Bakersfield is now lucky to have private investors stepping up to the plate. Richard Chapman, President and CEO of the Kern Economic Development Cooperation, agrees.
"We hope one day it will be like the Grove, where we have to drive two hours to get to. We should not have to drive more than ten minutes to experience this type of excitement," said Chapman.
Chapman says the new 255-acre Commons complex should generate $1.5 billion in economic activity every year and create thousands of jobs. Plus, he says, it will stop retail and entertainment dollars from trickling out of town.
"Our local economy is losing a lot of money from leakage. People go over the Grapevine to spend money or online. So, I think you are going to see retail sales come back pretty strongly," said Chapman.
The city still has to grant a conditional use permit for the project. A traffic engineer will look at the effect of adding a ball park to the design, considering the addition of the new Westside Parkway.
"I know that currently today there are traffic problems in that area, but the new freeway will be open by spring, and we think it will alleviate most of those congestion problems," said Tandy.
The city will also consider lights and noise coming from the proposed ball park. But, retail developers think field positioning on the project makes it fair game.
"It's natural that we are putting the ball park on the far north end of the stadium," said Barry Hibbard of Grubb and Ellis. "You look at who our neighbors are. Immediate neighbors are going to be Coffee Road and the railroad tracks. Those are pretty good neighbors for that sort of thing."
City Planner Jim Eggert says so far there are no major concerns about granting the permit. But, they'll present their findings at a hearing tentatively scheduled for December 11th.
The empty eyesore at Coffee and Brimhall Roads might be Bakersfield's field of dreams. In 2014, the area will start being filled in phases with retail and restaurants at The Commons, and a brand new Blaze ball park. The city will reap the rewards without putting a penny into it.
"It is purely a private sector investment, and they have not asked the city for any kind of subsidy whatsoever," said Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy.
Tandy says the city considered publicly funding a new ball park years ago, but that didn't happen. He says Bakersfield is now lucky to have private investors stepping up to the plate. Richard Chapman, President and CEO of the Kern Economic Development Cooperation, agrees.
"We hope one day it will be like the Grove, where we have to drive two hours to get to. We should not have to drive more than ten minutes to experience this type of excitement," said Chapman.
Chapman says the new 255-acre Commons complex should generate $1.5 billion in economic activity every year and create thousands of jobs. Plus, he says, it will stop retail and entertainment dollars from trickling out of town.
"Our local economy is losing a lot of money from leakage. People go over the Grapevine to spend money or online. So, I think you are going to see retail sales come back pretty strongly," said Chapman.
The city still has to grant a conditional use permit for the project. A traffic engineer will look at the effect of adding a ball park to the design, considering the addition of the new Westside Parkway.
"I know that currently today there are traffic problems in that area, but the new freeway will be open by spring, and we think it will alleviate most of those congestion problems," said Tandy.
The city will also consider lights and noise coming from the proposed ball park. But, retail developers think field positioning on the project makes it fair game.
"It's natural that we are putting the ball park on the far north end of the stadium," said Barry Hibbard of Grubb and Ellis. "You look at who our neighbors are. Immediate neighbors are going to be Coffee Road and the railroad tracks. Those are pretty good neighbors for that sort of thing."
City Planner Jim Eggert says so far there are no major concerns about granting the permit. But, they'll present their findings at a hearing tentatively scheduled for December 11th.