MADISON — A Madison City Council work session Monday on proposed renovations to Toyota Field unveiled options along with meeting new Major League Baseball standards.
The options include further upgrades to the stadium and range in price from $4 million to meet the MLB requirements to $25 million to build three additional stories onto a new clubhouse that would include seven suites, entertainment spaces, and a rooftop area.
Mayor Paul Finley said it’s a great thing to have options.
“I really appreciate where we are and we have options and we can make this work,” he said. “It’s really just a matter of where you guys as a City Council feel like the best investment is of these three options.”
Construction on Toyota Field was completed in 2020 at a cost of $46 million.
In 2023, Major League Baseball issued new requirements that visiting teams’ locker rooms must be of equal quality and designated spaces for female umpires or team affiliates. Facilities that do not provide the required facility upgrades will be subject to fines.
Madison planners said the first option, “Existing Maintenance Facility Utilization,” would cost $4 million, allow construction with no impact on stadium events and meet MLB requirements for additional space. However, there would be no return on investment.
The second option, “1-story within Stadium Confines”, would cost $7 million in construction, allow the stadium to host football games, and also meet MLB space requirements. This option would result in a delay in construction for stadium events.
A “4-Story within Stadium Confines” option would cost $25 million while also increasing revenue. There would also be a delay in construction for stadium events with this option.
The four-story option includes three additional stories on top of a new one-story clubhouse.
Proponents of the third option said the four-story build will allow the required construction to serve as further investment in baseball in the city of Madison.
Councilwoman Connie Spears said the third option also supports restaurants, hotels and other areas of the city to bring in additional revenue not included in the totals being discussed.
“Option three would bring in the opportunity for return on investment, but it would also make it more attractive to bring in outside baseball events,” said Spears. “We would also make it more attractive to have other companies and invest in that portion of our city around there, especially on Madison Boulevard.
“We have to bet on our city and we have to invest in our city.”
Councilman Gregg Shaw said he consulted with Madison’s financial advisors who believe the $25 million investment would benefit the city.
“Our financial advisor said it would be a good move for Madison,” said Shaw, “It would be a good investment.”
Council President John Seifert said they took a chance seven years ago on the stadium project.
“Back in 2018, we had this area that was a bunch of dirt and a lot of potential,” he said. “We took a chance and we actually received excess revenue.”
Meanwhile, Councilwoman Ranae Bartlett expressed concerns about the current state of the economy.
“It’s a matter of timing,” she said. “I look at the same monthly sales tax reports you all receive, and they show that in the past four months we have been flat or negative in sales tax receipts compared month to month. I’m concerned about inflation. I’m concerned about interest rates.
“I don’t think this is the time to go further into debt.”
Councilwoman Maura Wroblewski echoed Bartlett’s sentiments.
“I don’t want to see the city go into that much of debt,” she said. “I support doing what we have to do for Major League Baseball.”
Councilmember Karen Denzine continually voiced her concerns about changes to the contract the city holds with BallCorps, the parent company for the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
“We lose a lot of fees while going forward,” she said. “And then if we only do the one story, we don’t have to change the contract. We get all that money every year.”
The City Council is expected to vote on the three options in the coming weeks, though a date has not yet been set.
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