ECONOMY THROWS CURVEBALL TO BASEBALL CAMP

Mike McCagg

ccSCOOP News

01-31-10 - 6:10 p.m. - Developers of a massive baseball-themed sports camp in Greenport and Livingston threw a changeup to the Greenport Planning Board on Tuesday, January 27, seeking to alter the already approved site plan for the multi-field and dormitory project. The developers of 160-acre Hudson Park on Route 23 said the proposal will ultimately remain close to the initial plan, but the down economy has forced them to rethink how the project will begin and how the phases of the multi-year plan will roll out. The fields would be located behind the current Hudson Park restaurant on the site of the former Sunset Drive-in Theater on the Livingston/Greenport border.

“Some things have changed in the economy, and we’re here tonight to talk about the recasting of this project,” said Bill Better, who is the attorney representing the developers. “We’re not in a position to do what we were originally going to do in Phase One.”

As outlined to the Planning Board, Phase One would now include only the construction of two baseball fields and two softball fields, which is a much more conservative proposal than approved. The original plan called for the construction of dormitories and lighting for some of the ball fields, as well as the construction of four baseball fields and no softball fields. By eliminating the dormitories from Phase One, there is a significant reduction in upfront costs for water and wastewater treatment, as well as utilities and related expenses in creating housing for traveling athletes, said Burke St. John, one of the developers of the project.

St. John told planners the idea is to now “just get it going” and to target the demand for locations for weekend tournaments. He also pointed out that, by adding softball fields to the initial phase, the project “taps into” the “exploding teen girl softball” market, which is what investors are calling for. St. John, engineer Doug Clark, and Better repeatedly stressed that the overall project would change very little from that which was approved in 2007. What would change is how the project progresses.

By adding a total of five softball fields in place of four baseball fields—which are much larger than softball fields—the project’s foot-print on the 160-acre site would be reduced by 4.5 acres. The changes will actually result in the creation of seventeen fields instead of sixteen, but some of those fields will be smaller than initially designed.

The remaining fields—some of which are planned to be replicas of Major League ballparks—as well as the dormitories will be constructed as the market for larger, week-long tournaments increases, St. John said.

The Planning Board told St. John that they were concerned about the location of the Phase One fields, most of which would be located at the northernmost reaches of the site, approximately 1,500 feet from the nearest parking. “That is creating a strain for the parents and grandparents who want to see their kids play,” said Board Chairman Don Alger.

The developers said those fields are proposed to be constructed first because they are the least expensive of the fields to develop. They stressed that the fields had already been approved by the Planning Board and added that, if they needed to get golf carts to transport spectators to the field, they would do so.

Following much discussion of the parking situation and location of the fields, the Planning Board directed the developer to bring to the next meeting a letter from the Department of Transportation approving the entrances to the project. Doing so will set the stage for planners to consider amending the site plan.