Negotiations for a long-term lease of off-campus facility Blair Field between the city of Long Beach and Long Beach State is expected to be finalized Jan. 22, President F. King Alexander said Thursday.
“The city has got severe financial problems and, for the most part, the [condition of the] field the last couple of years has been marginal at best,” athletics director Vic Cegles said.
The deal will allow the university to take over the day-to-day operations of the facility, including concessions, which will be run by 49er Shops Inc. Alexander confirmed that the university took over operations Jan. 4 but that the terms of the deal have not been finalized.
The prices for food and drinks will be lowered to accommodate families, Alexander said.
Cegles said revenue would be generated through concessions, endorsements, commercial and movie shoots, maintenance, and renting out the facility. There will be no change to student fees.
“I just want students to understand that with the current rent we pay, potential concession revenue and sponsorship sales, there will be no additional cost for students during these difficult financial times,” he said.
The baseball team will now conduct practices at Blair Field, located at 4700 Deukmejian Drive, instead of the on-campus practice facility. Cegles said a lack of “basic [equipment] you need to have to recruit kids” have hurt the Dirtbags’ growth.
“Have you ever been to this practice facility? Do you see how bad it is?” he said. “We don’t have a locker room, it’s chicken wire on the fence there and I would think that [head coach Mike Weathers] doesn’t even bring recruits to show them that when he brings them on campus.”
Cegles said the original plan was to invest $2 million to $3 million into the on-campus practice facility through donations from some of the program’s current Major Leaguers, like Jason Giambi, Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria. But he said the city approached LBSU last spring about a long-term lease.
“We’re saying, ‘Yeah, maybe it makes sense to put all our resources into Blair as opposed to doing it here,'” Cegles recalled.
The upgrades are expected to include renovations to the locker room.
While the existing permits — including high school teams and summer youth programs — are expected to be honored, one former tenant is going to file a lawsuit against the city.
The Golden Baseball League’s attorney, Alexander M. Polyachenko, said the Long Beach Armada will no longer play at Blair Field because the team has “already released or [is] about to release” a schedule.
Polyachenko said the requirement by state law is to file a claim for damages, “which are denied routinely.” He said that once the denial is official, the lawsuit will be filed.
Polyachenko added that efforts to relocate have been made and are ongoing. An attempt to obtain a permit from LBSU was made but was unsuccessful because the Armada wanted to run the concessions, he said.
“Long Beach State has a different set of priorities,” Polyachenko added. “The deal made sense to the school’s point of view, but not the team. … The fees would be higher. The school wouldn’t offer the league anything viable.”
Polyachenko said the team’s permit, which was revoked Nov. 3, was not terminated because of nonpayment. The Gazette newspaper reported $26,000 in unpaid bills.
A warning notice — much like a notice of eviction — was not issued, Polyachenko said. Instead, he said, the league was immediately issued a termination notice.
“[The Armada] said, ‘Wait, we’ll pay,'” Polyachenko said. “[The city] said, ‘We don’t want your money.'”
“The city is losing a lot of money on Blair Field,” he continued. “Maintenance costs far exceeded revenue. The decision was made to lease it to LBSU. It’s easier for them to maintain it. The most important tenant is the Dirtbags.”