TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Peter D. Lear, CPA, CGMA, City Manager
TITLE: Development Agreement for the Spring Training Facility for the Atlanta Braves and
Addendum to the Agreements Concerning the ANLBC Facility in Sarasota County
Recommended Action
Approve the Development Agreement for the Spring Training Facility for the Atlanta Braves and the Addendum to Agreements Concerning ANLBC Facility in Sarasota County as requested by the State.
Background Information
On March 7, 2017, the Commission approved and gave the City Manager direction to sign the Letter of Intent and Term Sheet (LOI) for the Braves Spring Training Facility; Sarasota County, West Villages Improvement District (WVID), and Atlanta National League Baseball Club, LLC (ANLBC) also entered into the LOI. On June 13, 2017, the Commission approved and gave the City Manager direction to sign the License Agreement between ANLBC and the City of North Port, to use the Stadium and/or the Multi-purpose fields. On June 25, 2017, the Commission approved the Interlocal Agreement Regarding Spring Training Stadium Financing Obligations with WVID.
The Development Agreement being presented is one of the final documents needed to bring the Atlanta Braves to the City of North Port for Spring Training. The City Attorney and City Manager have been negotiating and working with the other five parties to arrive at the document being presented. The Agreement summarizes the rights and obligations of the parties through the construction of the stadium, including but not limited to: (i) conveyance of the facility site; (ii) facility design and construction; and (iii) construction funding sources.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has also requested as a condition of awarding the funding for the facility that all parties sign the Addendum to Agreements, which applies to all operative agreements related to the stadium. The Addendum sets forth the team’s obligation to play a certain number of spring training games in the stadium each year and establishes a fee payable to the DEO if the team fails to meet that criteria. Section 2, paragraph 2 provides that if force majeure causes the team to play fewer than half its games at the stadium, the operative agreements shall extend their term by one spring training season. The State is a third party beneficiary to the Addendum.
These are the final documents to which the City is a party to complete the work that all entities have been working on since this process started with the LOI in March.
These agreements have both been reviewed by the City Attorney.
Strategic Plan
Financially Responsible City Providing Quality Municipal Services
Financial Impact
None
Procurement
Attachments:
1. Development Agreement for the Spring Training Facility for the Atlanta Braves
2. Addendum to Agreements Concerning ANLBC Facility in Sarasota County
Prepared by: Pete Lear
Department Director: Pete Lear