Cape council goes to bat for baseball team, approves planning contract for Capaha Field improvements; seeks redevelopment proposals for Esquire Theater

The Cape Girardeau City Council has gone to bat for the community�s newest baseball team.

The council gave initial approval to proceed with planning for major improvements to Capaha Field. The entire project, including construction, is expected to cost about $1.5 million, city manager Scott Meyer said before Monday�s council meeting.

Meyer said the city has pledged $1 million toward the project and the new, yet-to-be-named baseball team will contribute $500,000 to the improvements. The city�s share will come from revenue generated by the parks/stormwater sales tax, he said. Voters earlier this month approved a ballot measure to extend the tax for 15 years to fund various parks and stormwater projects.

The council also set the stage Monday for redevelopment of the vacant Esquire Theater, agreeing to seek redevelopment proposals and authorizing the city�s Tax Increment Financing Commission to meet as a part of an effort to provide financial incentives to encourage a developer to tackle the project.

Council members voted to execute a contract with Design + Advise LLC of Cape Girardeau to provide planning and design services to make major improvements to Capaha Field.

Before the meeting, Meyer said there have been discussions about different improvements various users of the ballpark desire. Proposed improvements have been sparked by plans to establish a new wood-bat, summer team that would play in the Prospect League, starting in June 2019.

The team�s ownership group includes majority owner Anand �Andy� Patel, team general manager and retired Southeast Missouri State University baseball coach Mark Hogan and Montgomery Bank executive vice president Jim Limbaugh.

Desired improvements for Capaha Field include chair-back seats in the grandstand, a hitting cage, a home run deck in right field, a new concession/restroom facility and creation of a picnic area down the first base line, Meyer said in an email to the Southeast Missourian.

�There is also a need for new lights and a perimeter fence,� Meyer wrote, adding utility needs also must be considered in regard to the project.

Meyer said there also has been a desire to improve traffic circulation and parking in Capaha Park, and provide a �plaza entrance as well as locker rooms and other seating and viewing opportunities.�

The city manager said, however, �there is not enough money� to make all the improvements now.

He said initial planning design work will focus on chair-back seats, concession/restroom facility, perimeter fence, lights and infrastructure.

City engineer Casey Brunke said in an agenda report to the council there is a �need for architectural services� for the project, including conceptual drawings of the entrance, and the picnic, concession and restroom areas.

Under the council action, city staff will set out specific tasks for the design consultant.

But the council will have further input, Meyer said, adding any construction contracts would require council approval.

Meyer said there is a �tight time frame� to improve Capaha Field in time for the new baseball team, which will comprise collegiate players, to take the field in 2019.

The city and Southeast Missouri State University split the $1.8 million cost of previous ballpark improvements. The upgrades, made in 2016, included replacing the natural-grass outfield and dirt infield with synthetic turf and installing a new scoreboard.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Capaha Park, Cape Girardeau, Mo.