The commission entered into a $4 million grant agreement with Palisades Arcadia Baseball LLC, the owner of Dayton’s minor league baseball team.
“We know the Dragons’ operation was hit hard financially by the pandemic and that many upgrades are needed to provide a safer environment for fans,” said Commission President Debbie Lieberman in a press release. “We are very happy we are able to help.”
Montgomery County received $103.3 million in ARPA funds.
The commission last year voiced plans to commit $8.4 million in funding to the baseball team and other community projects, including renovations to the Grant Deneau tower and the creation of a new Ronald McDonald House in Dayton. Montgomery County leaders worked with outside consultants to determine whether to use ARPA money or another funding source on the projects.
U.S. Department of Treasury rules give local governments broad leeway in spending American Rescue Plan funds, noting only a few specifically ineligible uses. Included in this is the construction of convention centers, stadiums, or other large capital projects intended for general economic development or to aid impacted industries.
The county hired law office Bricker Graydon to determine if financial assistance to Day Air Ballpark, using ARPA dollars, adhered to the guidance from the U.S. Treasury, the commission stated in a press release.
The law office found ARPA funds could be used to help offset tourism, travel and hospitality industry assets, towards COVID-19 mitigation and infection prevention measures, and as mitigating the financial hardship of a small business, according to the commission.
“We knew last year we were going to commit money to the Dragons, and we knew it was going to be $4 million,” said Commissioner Judy Dodge. “But finding that the $4 million could all come from ARPA funding is a great thing because we aren’t having to pull money from our budget.”
The stadium closed at the beginning of the pandemic and did not reopen until May 2021.
The $4 million allotment is a part of more than $20 million in proposed improvements to the ballpark, prompted by needed maintenance and changes to MLB requirements for minor-league licensees.
Other improvements planned for the ballpark include work on the batting tunnel, upgrades to the AV control room and renovations to the team areas of the stadium.
The City of Dayton owns the baseball stadium and the plaza at its western entrance, as well as the land beneath the facility. Dayton City Commission last fall approved $6 million for the same project.
The Dayton Dragons team has a long-term lease that was extended for up to three more decades.
“The funding support of these projects will sustain Dayton Dragons Professional Baseball and the life of Day Air Credit Union Ballpark and keep this as a community asset affecting the local and regional economy and quality of life for years to come,” said Dragons team President Robert Murphy.
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