For more than a year, Mayor Dave Bieter and other community leaders have been lobbying for a new facility for minor league baseball and possible other sports, estimated to cost more than $20 million. So far no one has stepped up to pay for it.
But former Red Sox Bill Buckner will be the featured guest at a meeting Wednesday to offer an update on the project and generate support.
The public is invited to the free event from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the C.W. Moore Building at 5th and Front streets in Boise.
The host is the Better Boise Coalition, a group advocating for a new multisport and entertainment complex to replace the outdated Memorial Stadium and become the new home to the Boise Hawks.
Coalition leaders and Boise Hawks management are scheduled to speak at the “State of the Stadium” event.
Last year, the coalition hired a consultant to evaluate potential Boise sites for the new stadium, which could host high school sporting events, concerts and other outdoor events.
After reviewing more than a dozen sites in Boise of at least 7.5 acres, the consultant focused on three possible sites in accessible locations and compatible with surrounding development.
All are within the 30th Street neighborhood, which is targeted for redevelopment; one is owned by the city, the other is partly owned by the city and the third, the former Bob Rice Ford dealership, is privately owned.
The Boise Council is considering creating a 30th Street urban renewal area, which would pay for public improvements by capturing the increase in property taxes that the improvements generate.
Also last year, the city commissioned a $20,000 analysis of the market for a multipurpose stadium. The 53-page report suggested that a new stadium would increase attendance at Hawks games from an average of 2,800 to roughly 4,000.
In addition to hosting a baseball team, a new facility could be used for football, soccer, softball, concerts, and family shows.
Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428
