Proposed downtown ballpark lease unveiled

City councilors will present a lease during their upcoming meeting that would signal another step towards Triple-A baseball in downtown El Paso.

While councilors will have to approve the lease before City Manager Joyce Wilson can ink the deal, it gives El Pasoans their first look into the type of deal the city is looking to strike with Mountain Star Sports Group.

The deal, according to the lease, would tie the proposed Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team to El Paso for 25 years. Three five-year extensions are built in that would require negotiations from both sides between 18-24 months before the expiration of each pact.

The first 25 years of the deal would call for $200,000 in rent, but the city wouldn’t be able to spend all of that money freely.

One hundred fifty thousand dollars of each year’s payments would be set aside in a fund for future capital improvements to keep the stadium up to code with MiLB standards.

The city of El Paso would also net income from parking fees and a ticket tax, at a cost of 10 cents per ticket; however, both amounts are capped. A maximum of $75,000 can be earned through ticket taxes, and parking fees would max out at $30,000.

All told, the city of El Paso could gain a maximum of $155,000 per year of the deal.

While the city hopes to draw businesses, and income, to the area through the ballpark to offset the $50 million to build the stadium, it will only recoup 15 percent of the building costs during the 25 years of its initial deal.

According to the lease, baseball won’t be the only activity taking place at the downtown ballpark. The tenant will be allowed to host concerts, meetings, and other sporting events to make more money.

The city will also be given opportunities to host events, but they are allowed a maximum of 10 events per year which must be approved by the tenant.

While the city can host those 10 events, the lease doesn’t necessarily allow them to sell concessions. Instead, the ownership group would be given the right to sell concessions and merchandise. If they opt to pass on concession profits, the city would be given the right to negotiate with vendors for those events.

As for other money makers: naming rights to the ballpark, sponsorships, merchandise, and day-to-day concessions, the team would have all rights if the lease is accepted by the city.

The lease will be presented in its entirety during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

A vote on whether the city manager will be allowed to enter the city into the lease will be held on Sept. 18.