Ripken Refinance Could Save Aberdeen Hundreds of Thousands

In what Aberdeen officials say is an effort to save taxpayer dollars, the more than $9 million in outstanding loans on Ripken Stadium may be refinanced as early as this fall.

Aberdeen City Manager Doug Miller the outstanding debt on the stadiums loans, which are now 10 years old, is $9.3 million. Miller believes those loans are eligible to be refinanced for lower interest rates, which he anticipates could save between $400,000 and $900,000 over the remaining course of the loans.

Legislation to refinance the stadium's five bonds with the Community Development Administration was introduced during the last regular city council meeting.

Ripken Stadium, which was constructed in 2002, is home to the Aberdeen IronBirds, the minor league Baltimore Orioles Class A affiliate in the NY-Penn League, as well as the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy.

The stadium, which can seat 6,000 fans, was modeled after Baltimore's Camden Yards. It came to fruition after Aberdeen native and former Baltimore Oriole and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. received a $75,000 gift from the Major League Baseball Player’s Association in order to build a “field of dreams” in his hometown.

Ripken Jr., his younger brother Bill and other members of the Ripken family expanded on the "field of dreams" idea and instead of refurbishing a single field within the city, presented plans for a large stadium complex to Aberdeen officials.

The $12 million stadium, excluding the neighboring Marriott hotel, was financed through individual and corporate donations in addition to millions of dollars in city funding.

Original stadium legislation called for the state to spend $3 million, the city of Aberdeen to invest $4 million, minor league teams owner Peter Kirk to put up $2 million and Harford County to invest $2 million in the stadium, which would be operated and leased by Cal Ripken Jr.'s Ripken Baseball.

But when plans were brought to the table with county and state officials, former Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann expressed concern in the investment from the county on the premise that she believed the stadium would belong more to Aberdeen than to Harford County.

The debt of Ripken stadium has been a heavy burden for the city and taxpaying residents, and city officials have long been pulling from the city's general fund to pay back the loans on the stadium.

Original plans for the stadium included an adjacent complex, which was to include retail shops, restaurants and a movie theater. The complex, had it been constructed, was thought to bring in an additional $800,000 per year in amusement taxes, which would help pay back the stadium debts.

But with the downturn in the economy, developer Nottingham Properties' backed out of the plan to construct the complex, and so the amusement tax dollars never came, leaving the debt solely on the shoulders of Aberdeen.

A public hearing to discuss the issue of refinancing the city's portion of Ripken Stadium debt is scheduled for the Aug. 22.

Miller said he would not know what the new interest rates could be until the loans go to market, which he anticipates could be sometime in October.

The city's administration could adopt the new ordinance authorizing the refinance of Ripken loans as early as Sept. 12, Miller said.