Franklin task force approves outline of deal for The Rock's baseball stadium

FRANKLIN (WITI) -- Officials in Franklin have endorsed a $10.5 million financing deal for a minor league baseball stadium -- hoping that project will serve as a catalyst for $100 million in development that would create a "new downtown" for Franklin.

"This isn't about bringing baseball to Franklin. It's about bringing a new downtown to Franklin," Franklin Director of Administration Mark Luberda said.

Mark Zimmerman, the owner of The Rock, wants to build the minor league baseball stadium in the hopes of getting a Frontier League baseball team into Franklin.

The stadium would be built on The Rock property, near South 76th Street and West Rawson Avenue.

After about a month of negotiation, on Monday, April 14th, a Franklin task force approved the outlines of a deal to make the stadium project happen and promote broader development in the area.

"A new downtown area -- from 76th and Rawson, a little bit down Loomis and including the area of the current Rock," Luberda said.

The deal includes Zimmerman and The Rock paying to build the $10.5 million baseball stadium.

The city of Franklin would create a TIF district and would pay Zimmerman back over the life of the TIF district with tax money collected on new developments that would be built around the stadium.

Zimmerman has said he envisions a $40 million mixed-use development in the area that could include retail, a hotel, housing and other commercial space.

"Retail and commercial development follows traffic. What the stadium brings based on their analysis is over 100,000 people over the course of just the season alone," Luberda said.

The development would occur on land currently owned by the state. The state has indicated it is interested in selling the land.

A public information meeting is planned for Thursday, April 17th.

Franklin's Common Council will vote on the plan on April 22nd.

Franklin says even if approved, it plans to hire a consultant to determine whether the TIF district plan is financially feasible.

The city initially rejected Zimmerman's plan for the baseball stadium -- saying they wanted him to commit to additional development around the stadium.

The Milwaukee Business Journal's Sean Ryan has been following this developing story.

"When I first spoke to (Zimmerman) about it, he said that it was something he was doing a little soul-searching on because it is a lot of development to have to commit to in order to make a deal like this stadium -- which is a lot more firm, come together," Ryan said.

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