Bristol approves $1.1 million purchase agreement for new ballpark site
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Summary
At its Oct. 14 meeting, the Bristol Virginia City Council voted unanimously to approve a purchase agreement to acquire roughly 8.73 acres for a new multi-use ballpark, setting a $1.1 million price, a 90-day inspection period, naming-rights arrangements and deed restrictions limiting future uses.
Bristol Virginia City Council on Oct. 14 approved a purchase agreement to acquire approximately 8.73 acres for a new multi-use ballpark, authorizing staff to complete the transaction at a purchase price of $1,100,000.
City staff said the parcel consists of tax parcels 26-2-214-J and 26-2-214-J1 and that the agreement reached with Marathon Realty Corporation reduces the seller’s original asking price of $1,600,000 to $1,100,000. The agreement includes a 90-day inspection period and requires closing on or before the 30th day after that inspection period, staff said.
The purchase agreement also grants KBAT exclusive rights to designate the official name and logo of a portion of the ballpark, subject to a separate marketing agreement between the city and KBAT. The city will record a deed restriction that prohibits use of the property as a grocery supermarket, for the sale of groceries, automotive fueling products, prescription pharmaceuticals, and for sale of hot and cold coffee or espresso drinks. The restriction does not prohibit concessions, food trucks, or businesses providing prepared ready-to-eat food in conjunction with events at the ballpark.
City staff recommended approval of the agreement. At the meeting, council members described the purchase as the second step in a longer process to build a new facility intended to serve Virginia High School baseball and the Bristol State Liners and to provide an outdoor event venue for the city. Council members also discussed private involvement in the project, saying a private operator (referred to in the meeting as Boyd’s) would manage and contribute funding for the facility; council members said final agreements with that operator were still in progress at the time of the vote.
The council voted unanimously to approve the purchase agreement and authorized staff to take all actions necessary to close within the time specified in the agreement.
The purchase moves forward several interlocking pieces: staff-negotiated land acquisition, a pending marketing agreement with KBAT regarding naming rights, and later financing and management agreements that council members said remain to be finalized. The city staffer who presented the item described the purchase as “the second step” in a longer process to deliver a new ballpark.
Council members asked for and emphasized the inspection period to verify that the property will accommodate the intended uses and to identify any issues before closing. No formal amendments to the purchase agreement were offered during the meeting.
If the transaction closes as written, the site will revert to the city subject to the deed restrictions recorded with the deed. The council did not adopt final construction or financing documents at the Oct. 14 meeting; those matters were discussed elsewhere on the agenda as separate items related to financing and reimbursement.
Details to watch next include the outcome of the marketing agreement with KBAT, any finalized management/operating agreement with the private operator referenced by council members, and related bond or financing actions the council may approve at future meetings.
