For those wondering when or perhaps if, a proposed professional baseball stadium was going to be built in Bridgeport, Mayor Jim Christie provided information this evening that should answer those questions. According to Christie, the new stadium proposed in 2012 to be situated on property at the Charles Pointe development will be ready for action in May of next year.

 

“The stadium is on the fast track” said Christie during the first Bridgeport City Council meeting of 2013. “The first pitch should be thrown out in May of 2014.”

 

Last year, officials with Genesis Partners – the developers of Charles Pointe – announced that a deal had been struck for a Frontier League team to come to Bridgeport. The team will be managed and owned by the ownership group of the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things.

 

“I’ve had numerous meetings with officials of Charles Pointe and the Washington Wild Things. I’ve been on conference calls that have last an hour or longer,” said Christie. “We’ve been to Consol (Energy Park) to work on an agreement to bring baseball here.”

 

Late this past year, officials with Genesis Partners confirmed they were soliciting architectural/engineering firms to begin the process for construction of the stadium. To date, earth moving hasn’t taken place, but Christie said there will soon be site excavation.

 

As for the site, officials have pointed to an area off of State Route 279, between the roadway and the Bridgeport Recreation Complex.

Whether that site has changed or if other options exist was not known at press time as there was no answer at the Genesis Partners’ offices.

 

The news also appears to have quelled a fear that plans for a stadium to be built just up Interstate 79 in Morgantown would jeopardize the Bridgeport project. Officials in Morgantown have plans to build near the University Town Center, with a new exit to the stadium from I-79 between exits 152 and 155. However, that stadium’s funding is contingent on West Virgina Legislative approval of a tax increment finance (TIF) district approved late last year by the Monongalia County Commission.

 

If it moves forward as Christie suggested in Bridgeport, it would be a boon for baseball enthusiasts as well as the travel and tourism in the area. Along with the regular visitors that would come from the teams traveling to the area to compete in Frontier League play, officials with the Washington Wild Things and Genesis Partners have said the field would have multiple uses beyond baseball.

 

In April of last year, Mark Dellana, Executive Director of Development for Genesis Partners, said the park’s uses are practically unlimited. He pointed to activities including, but not limited to, flag football, Christmas in July night and basketball tournaments to professional wrestling, Bark Park (Dog) Night and rodeos. Dellana also said youth league and NCAA baseball tournaments would also be welcomed at the venue, as would political gatherings and other events.

 

Click HERE for coverage of the rest of tonight's Council meeting, including discussion on an expansion of the Meadowbrook Mall.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured is Mayor Jim Christie at the work session prior to tonight's regularly scheduled Council meeting.