Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- The days of Alliance Bank Stadium being county owned may be coming to an end. In a new lease agreement being considered by county lawmakers the Syracuse Chiefs have the option to buy the stadium. The asking price: $2.8 million.
If the Chiefs were to buy the stadium it would give them total control of the facility. Things like getting a new scoreboard, which has been a big issue, could happen a lot faster and it would give the team easier access to hold other events besides just baseball.
"Whether concerts or other events, but obviously if you own the facility then you can probably do even more and maybe there's winter events we would want to hold,” said the Chiefs’ General Manager John Simone.
Simone says owning the facility would give them full control over things like concession stands and the ability to open a year-round restaurant if they wanted to.
"Yes, it cost $28 million, but it’s not worth $28 million. As soon as that first year goes on it depreciated. It needs a lot of upkeep and there's going to be a good deal of capital costs,” Simone said.
Simone also says the Chiefs have put about $6.5 million into the facility and they’re planning to go out and buy a new scoreboard, whether they buy the place of just lease it for the next 11 years.
But, there’s at least one lawmaker who is questioning whether the $2.8 million dollar price tag is too low.
Vice-Chair of Ways and Means Casey Jordan told NewsChannel 9, "You would think that would have more value than three million dollars. That seems to me to be an incredibly low option price."
He does say it seems that after so many years of owning the stadium it may be the time to get of the baseball business.
"It’s predominate use is as a baseball field, so that would seem to be appropriate that perhaps the baseball team should own the facility and they can manage it in any fashion they deem appropriate or profitable,” Jordan said.
The county did not find anyone interested in running the stadium when it put it out to bid late last year. The legislature would have to sign off on this lease agreement with the Chiefs, the Ways and Means Committee is expected to discuss it next week.
