KentXie
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I like this. This could be another job opportunity for teens like me to work at the stadium.
Boston Herald said:Bunker Hill baseball?: $45M stadium plan in play
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Friday, July 20, 2007 - Updated: 05:36 AM EST
The Hub would get a second major baseball stadium - in Charlestown - under plans being pitched by a high-powered Boston lawyer who wants to bring a minor league team to Boston.
Alexander Bok, former general counsel at top Boston public relations firm Rasky Baerlein, has launched a campaign to win neighborhood support for a proposed $45 million, state-of-the-art minor league stadium.
The 6,000-seat ballpark would become home to a new, minor league team that would compete in the Atlantic League, an independent league with franchises in Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball .
Bok and his business partners, including a former Brockton mayor, showed off renderings and plans to a crowd of about 100 Charlestown residents and leaders earlier this week at a meeting held at the Knights of Columbus hall.
Bok is also taking his case to the state?s Division of Capital Asset Mangement, which oversees state-owned land such as the Bunker Hill Community College campus. Bok wants to build the new stadium complex on five to 10 acres next to Bunker Hill?s main academic complex - state land now used for college athletic fields.
But Bok?s proposal faces challenges. The would-be ballpark builder and his fellow investors, including some top venture capitalists, come to Charlestown only after having ruled out other sites.
Bok first floated plans to build the ballpark in Dorchester on land controlled by the University of Massachusetts at Boston and Boston College High, only to see that plan get a lukewarm reception.
Likewise, the Bunker Hill board of trustees recently rejected his initial overtures, concerned the ballpark would take up valuable land needed for future expansion.
?We believe the program as submitted with us isn?t consistent with the mission of the college,? said Jean Marie Boylston, chairwoman of the board of trustees.
But Bok says Charlestown is the right location for his ballpark and team, near both the Orange Line and Interstate 93.
He said he hopes to win over Bunker Hill trustees, who have not seen his full proposal, with pledges of jobs for students and even an ownership stake in the stadium. The college could also use the facilty for its own sports programs, including the Bunker Hill baseball team, he said.
Bok said the new team and stadium would offer local families a chance to watch ballgames at old-fashioned prices, with tickets in the $5 to $12 range.
?This is affordable family entertainment,? Bok said. ?The idea is you can take a family of four and spend $100.?