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Council advances talks on leasing Municipal Park to proposed Gallatin Long Hunters summer baseball team
Summary
Council moved a proposed lease with Gallatin Baseball LLC forward after presentations from the Volunteer State League's Brett Thaler and acting GM Mark Wilson; American Legion and high-school representatives supported the concept but raised concerns about concession revenues, field maintenance, a 10-year lease term and any beer-sales permission.
The Gallatin City Council voted to advance a lease discussion with Gallatin Baseball LLC for use of Municipal Park fields by a proposed Volunteer State League franchise, the Gallatin Long Hunters, after a detailed presentation and follow-up questions from council and community stakeholders.
Brett Thaler, representing the Players League and the Volunteer State League, outlined the league model and local structure and said the league expects to include Gallatin as one of five inaugural markets. "We believe that this team will be able to bring, to about $1,000,000 annually to the city of Gallatin," Thaler said, citing economic-impact projections included in the council packet.
Mark Wilson, acting general manager for the proposed Gallatin franchise, discussed operational details, including a 25-to-35-player roster, 20-to-25 home games per season and plans to work closely with Gallatin High School and the American Legion to share fields. Wilson and the presenters described potential revenue streams (sponsorships, tickets, concessions and livestream subscriptions) and said the Players League offers national support for streaming, staffing and other operational elements.
The American Legion and longtime local organizer Greg Johnson praised the proposal but stressed the importance of preserving Legion access and rights at David Alexander Field; Johnson and other Legion representatives said the Legion had invested significant volunteer time and funds into field maintenance and sought assurances the lease would not impair youth programming. Council members raised specific questions about a 10-year lease term without a mutual exit clause, advertising and concession revenue rights, insurance and liability if the team would use city maintenance equipment and the idea of allowing beer sales at some games. Several council members asked staff to ensure the lease terms protected the Legion and the high school and to include an option for the city to terminate or revisit the agreement under clear conditions.
Council voted to move the proposal forward to the council agenda for resolution/lease negotiation; staff said a formal resolution would likely accompany any final agreement and that the city attorney would continue to refine the draft lease language.
Ending: Council directed staff and the city attorney to continue negotiations and to prepare a formal lease/resolution for council consideration; no final lease was approved at the work session.
