The Hagerstown Suns may be staying in Maryland another two years.
Hagerstown City Council voted 3 – 2 to approve a two-season lease extension for the team, which has hopes of moving to Fredericksburg.
“Terms of the 2015 and 2016 extension include the Suns paying a nonrefundable $70,000 to the city in two installments, as well as covering the majority of operational costs at Municipal Stadium both years and a $10,000 insurance deductible in the event of an emergency,” reported Herald Mail Media. The agreement may be cancelled at any time with a 90-day notice.
The Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals had filed an application to relocate to Fredericksburg at the start of the 2015 season, but delays with purchase of land for a Fredericksburg stadium necessitated the lease-extension with Hagerstown. Professional baseball rules require advance assurance of a stadium in which to play.
A group of investors which includes Suns’ owners and New Jersey-based Diamond Nation are working to purchase a 38-acre parcel of land in Celebrate Virginia South, on which they plan to build the stadium complex that would host the Suns and provide space for amateur baseball and softball camps and tournaments.
In March the City of Fredericksburg granted the investors a 90-day extension, giving them until mid-June 2014 to finalize their site studies, construction plans and financing.
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