A baseball stadium in Lacey? Mayor Andy Ryder keeps idea alive
Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder concluded a joint meeting of Lacey City Council and the city’s parks board Thursday by renewing his call for a baseball stadium.
“It’s the one thing missing in our parks system,” he said, adding the city needs to continue to talk about how it could be built, possibly in partnership with Saint Martin’s University.
“What’s it going to take to get it done?” he said. “I think it would be a great addition and I would love to see it happen.”
He said that over the years the city has received inquiries from wood-bat leagues, and Ryder has told them that he would love to see them come here.
“We just need to figure out the stadium side of it,” he said.
The West Coast League, a collegiate wood-bat league, has teams in Bellingham, Port Angeles and Wenatchee.
“It’s a passion of mine as well,” said parks board chairman Aram Wheeler. “I would love to wear that Lacey baseball cap and have that wood-bat team.”
Speaking to the construction of a baseball stadium, Wheeler added: “Hopefully, we can pass an MPD in the future that would address that.”
MPD stands for metropolitan park district. Creating one would allow the district to levy a tax to fund the city’s park system and other investments.
In 2018, the city weighed the idea of an MPD and sent it to voters that November, when it was defeated 52 percent to 48 percent, according to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office.
If the MPD had been approved, it was estimated to raise $2.7 million a year by levying a tax of 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, or about $11.75 per month for a house valued at $300,000, according to city projections at the time.
Some of the proposed spending included $6.5 million for an outdoor sports stadium with annual maintenance costs of $1 million.
Although Lacey voters didn’t pass it, the city of Tumwater did create a metropolitan parks district during the same election.
Jen Burbidge, the city’s parks and recreation director, offered a hopeful note about baseball in Lacey.
“There is a lot of interest and we do have some opportunities that we are currently exploring,” she said.
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
