BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) – Minor League Baseball may be coming to Northern Brunswick County.
REV Entertainment and the Texas Rangers have reached out to the City of Leland about the possibility of bringing a professional sports team, ballpark, and entertainment venue to the area.
While this is still preliminary, members of the Rangers organization and REV Entertainment have already traveled to Brunswick County to tour the area and meet with potential partners.
After that visit, community leaders and private stakeholders from our area traveled to Arlington, Texas to visit Globe Life Field, Choctaw Stadium, and the Texas Live entertainment complex.
According to Town of Leland emails requested by WWAY earlier this week, REV Entertainment is proposing a smaller version of Arlington to be built on a 1,400+ acre piece of property along Highway 17 next to Brunswick Forest, which is part of the planned Jackeys Creek development.
REV Entertainment and the Rangers were in Leland the week before Christmas to hold information sessions with elected leaders and staff from Leland, Brunswick County and surrounding towns.
According to a PowerPoint presentation from the information session, the proposed capacity of the stadium is 4,000 with a little more than 1,700 available parking spaces. There are 400 additional spaces reserved for the surrounding mixed use development.
The site will not only host a minor league baseball team, but various events and concerts like Arlington, with bars, restaurants, and music in their area.
According to emails from city officials, the baseball stadium is proposed to be a publicly owned facility privately operated through a lease agreement. That means, a countywide municipal bond would likely be needed to finance the stadium.
If approved by the Brunswick County Commissioners, the referendum for the bond could be placed on the November 2023 ballot.
The proposed timeline of REV Entertainment shows, if the bond is approved, the groundbreaking will be held in the Spring of 2024, with the opening day in March of 2026.
WWAY has reached out to the City of Leland, City Council and Brunswick County for comment. The City of Leland emailed the following statement:
“We are excited to have the interest from REV Entertainment to work together with Brunswick County and the City of Leland to develop a world-class development concept with sports and entertainment as the anchor. We look forward to learning more about their interest and development of a potential partnership in the coming months.
The baseball team will invest in entertainment, restaurant, and hotel areas adjacent to the stadium, up to $100 million. The community will also get an opportunity to provide input on stadium-related amenities and even help brand the team, Leland Town Manager David Hollis wrote in an email to staff.
The same email addresses the increase in traffic around the stadium. Hollis said it will be mitigated by road improvements as development is made over time, which will include connections to existing roads in neighborhoods and commercial areas, additional connections to Highway 17 and Highway 133, and other improvements as required from traffic engineering studies.
Hollis also wrote that this location in the north end of the county was preferred by the baseball team because of its isolation from other similar areas and the untapped and growing market throughout northern Brunswick County and New Hanover County.
REV Entertainment now has a presence in North Carolina. The company manages the Down East Wood Ducks in Kinston and the Hickory Crawdads.
WWAY reached out to REV Entertainment regarding the proposed plans. The group issued the following statement:
“REV Entertainment is pleased to work with Brunswick County and the City of Leland to develop a world-class development concept with sports and entertainment as the anchor. We are excited to publicly launch the partnership with a announcement in the coming months.
This is not the first time Minor League Baseball has been mentioned in the Cape Fear. In fact, Wilmington briefly had a minor league team.
In 2001, the Los Angeles Dodgers brought a minor league team to Wilmington. The Wilmington Waves are a low-A team that plays their home games at Brooks Field on the campus of UNCW. The franchise lasted only one year.
10 years ago, another group tried to make a deal to build a baseball stadium in downtown Wilmington. In 2012, the Atlanta Braves and Mandalay Baseball came to Wilmington to discuss a proposal, which included a taxpayer-funded stadium for a Braves MiLB team.
The developers then worked on a private financing plan, which included an offer from the Trask Land Company to help finance the project, but it never materialized. The stadium was built along the Cape Fear River where the Live Oak Pavilion is located.
As for this latest proposal, REV Entertainment, Brunswick County, and the City of Leland are planning a news conference for late February or early March to share more details on the project. .
This is a developing story. We will keep you updated.
