The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority on July 26 voted 7-1 to approve $23 million in multi-year funding for major renovations to Asheville’s 99-year-old McCormick Field, the home field/stadium of the Asheville Tourists’ minor league baseball team.

The approval of the funding followed the  first vote, when board members Scott Patel and Andrew Celwyn voted against it.

On a rare second vote, just a while later, Patel switched to a “yes” vote, enabling passage of the TDA funding proposal.  

“In an email to fellow board members, Celwyn laid out a number of reasons for his opposition to the funding proposal, among them a concern that the project represents a ‘shakedown’ of the city by Major League Baseball, a multibillion-dollar industry,” the Asheville Citizen Times reported on July 27.

“The people are failing to recognize that this is a subsidy for Major League Baseball,” Celwyn told the ACT after the meeting. (A separate story with Celwyn’s comments appears on Page A3.)

Regarding the significance of the TDA’s vote for the funding, the ACT stated the following:

 â€œA funding plan for a $37.5 million McCormick Field renovation supposedly hinged on a single vote from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority July 26. With commitments secured from the city, Buncombe County and Asheville’s own minor league baseball team, the TDA buy-in was the final piece needed.”

However, a statement obtained by the Daily Planet from the Tourists’ team verbally tweaked the ACT’s assertion that the TDA commitment was “the final piece needed.” 

To that end, Doug Maurer, director of broadcasting and media relations for the Tourists, said in a brief telephone interview with the Daily Planet on July 28 morning, “From my understanding, this is the milestone that will keep baseball in Asheville for generations to come,” He then noted that his aforementioned statement was taken directly from a press release the team has issued. 

When pressed by the Daily Planet for more details on the ramifications of the $23 million in funding for stadium improvements to secure the team’s future in Asheville, Mourer said he was not at liberty to comment further.

The team had threatened to leave the city if funding to renovate the stadium was not forthcoming, but Maurer told the Daily Planet that with the TDA’s funding, coupled with commitments from the City of Asheville ($20 million over the next 20 years) and Buncombe County ($5 million over the next 20 years), the Tourists’ are here to stay — after the final hurdle of securing state funding is completed.

At that point in the interview, Maurer agreed to send the Daily Planet the following brief “official” statement by the Asheville Tourists regarding the TDA’s latest action: 

 â€œToday, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) approved nearly $23 million in multi-year funding for the McCormick Field Centennial Restoration & Capital Improvements Project. 

“We are thankful for the commitment shown by the BCTDA, City of Asheville, and Buncombe County to McCormick Field and Minor League Baseball in Asheville.  

“This investment by the BCTDA is a major milestone that will keep Minor League Baseball in Asheville for generations to come. 

“We now look forward to working with the State of North Carolina for the final piece of the McCormick Field Centennial Restoration & Capital Improvements Project.”  

Meanwhile, Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported, “The (TDA) money will go toward improvements necessary to meet Minor League Baseball facility standards passed in 2019. The investment will also modernize the stadium into a multi-use public facility, which will allow the stadium to operate year-round events.” 

The City of Asheville had requested the funds on May 31.

The investment marks the first debt service project and the largest Tourism Product Development Fund investment ever granted.

The TPDF is funded through a lodging tax paid by visitors who stay overnight in Buncombe County in commercial lodging facilities, including hotels, vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts.

“McCormick field construction is expected to begin September 2024 and be completed by March 2026, according to Greenstein’s release,” the ACT noted. “McCormick Field currently attracts 179,500 attendees annually, with with an estimated average of 28 percent of attendees coming from the five-county area surrounding Buncombe County.”

Meanwhile, Vic Isley, the president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the BCTDA Vic Isley said in a news release “Throughout this process, our staff, committee and board have emphasized the importance of a year-round facility to serve the needs of the community beyond the baseball season. The board’s decision today demonstrates our commitment to preserving and improving community assets and sustaining affordable, family-friendly activities for locals and those who visit. We are proud to support the continued legacy of baseball in Asheville and Buncombe County through this monumental investment partnership with the City of Asheville, Buncombe County and the Asheville Tourists ballclub.”