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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Vote No Stadium Tax Committee says ballpark is not feasible

Last month, WHQR’s Sara Wood spoke with Terry Spencer of the Wilmington Family Entertainment and Baseball Committee. The group supports a $37 million stadium bond referendum that would bring minor league baseball to the Port City. Today we hear from Scott Harry with The Vote No Stadium Tax Referendum Committee. He says in this economy, it’s criminal to ask citizens to pay for a stadium.

Harry believes a publicly-funded stadium operated by Mandalay Sports would hamper economic development. He says proponents of the ballpark use emotional arguments to garner support.

“’My dad took me to a baseball game when I was young, and I want to have that for my son.’ That’s great but it’s not worth taking money away from someone who’s worked hard to earn it. The city’s a $100 million-a-year city, and Mandalay’s a $5 billion-a-year corporation. They can write a check for this today if it was going to be profitable, they would do that.” 

If the referendum passes, the city would raise property taxes by two-and-a-half cents to pay for the stadium. Voters will get to decide on the ballot next month.