It was officially announced last week that Routine Field, the new ballpark opening for the new independent American Association's Milwaukee Milkmen, is behind schedule and is now targeting a June 24th home opener. The Milkmen were supposed to open their home schedule on May 24th. The team is still expected to participate in the league this season starting on May 16th, but will play all home games in Kokomo, Indiana for the foreseeable future (the Kokomo Jackrabbits of the Northwoods League are of the same ownership group).
This is just the latest in the shady saga of Mike Zimmerman, the CEO of the Milkmen and ROC Ventures, who is also developing Ballpark Commons surrounding the Franklin ballpark. A development that was originally estimated at $100 million has now swelled to over $180 million due to seemingly arbitrary increases in scope and what Zimmerman is calling "unforeseen development expenses" and "the Foxconn Effect," which is in reference to the large southeastern Wisconsin project siphoning subcontractors, thus contributing to increasing construction costs in the area. All of this led to Zimmerman requesting an additional $5.2 million from the city in December 2018 - this after already conning the city out of a TIF district, whose economic impact on a blighted exurban area can be are argued to be marginal at best. Approvals for this project have been contentious from the beginning, with Franklin's own mayor speaking in opposition to certain aspects of the development, including but not limited to a senior housing complex that is also behind schedule.
My family does not live far from this complex, and I drove by it about a month ago only to find they were still setting steel on the ballpark. I will go on record now that I would bet money the Milkmen will not play a game at Routine Field this year. Everything that has gone wrong on this project has so far, including a brutal winter which no doubt impacted schedule. This is yet another example of one of those projects where I struggle between my thoughts as a baseball fan and my thoughts as an architect/citizen. It's hard not to be excited about a brand new professional baseball team right in my backyard, and for the UW-Milwaukee baseball program to finally have a respectable facility. But this could also very well bankrupt the city of Franklin and go down as one of the worst examples of the so-called "economic impact" that ballparks can provide. I won't go off on another diatribe on publicly financing stadiums under the guise of serving as a development anchor. There are ways to do this successfully - we need not look any further than our own Milwaukee Bucks - but the way that Zimmerman and Franklin have been butting heads since the very beginning, I worry about the ROC's and the city's future.
STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 4/22/19:
Brewers 13-10; 3 @ Cardinals, 3 @ Mets, 4 v. Rockies
Twins 12-7; 3 @ Astros, 3 v. Orioles, 4 v. Astros
2019 GAMES ATTENDED:
2019 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 0
Peter - 5
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment