Councillor wants Winnipeg Goldeyes, city to review buck-a-year Shaw Park lease
Laura Glowacki | CBC News | Posted: March 28, 2019 7:08 PM | Last Updated: March 28, 2019
Sam Katz says he's open to negotiations, but argues Goldeyes already pay a lot in taxes and for maintenance
The head of a standing policy committee is hoping to revise the agreement that sees the Winnipeg Goldeyes pay the city $1 per year to lease Shaw Park.
Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital), who chairs the city's property and development committee, wants to see Winnipeg increase the lease price — but not raise it so high it drives the team away.
"I'd like to see us getting more than a dollar a year," Mayes said Thursday by phone. "It's supply and demand. They need a stadium and we need a team for our stadium."
The city and Riverside Park Management — a non-profit founded by former mayor Sam Katz, who owns the baseball team — struck a 25-year lease agreement in 1997 that expires in 2023. The expiration date is just a few months after the next council takes over at city hall, following a civic election set for 2022.
"I thought, let's get started on it now so we're not under any pressure," Mayes said.
A motion that will go before the property and development committee at its Monday meeting asks the city's public service to meet with Riverside Park Management and report back by Sept. 19 of this year.
Katz says he's wiling to sit down at the negotiating table. He is eager to start capital projects, like updating the team's digital scoreboards and extending safety netting, which the team has put off because the lease is coming to its end.
"Obviously capital improvements, if you're going to spend a couple million dollars, those are done over long periods of time," said Katz.
"In addition to your normal maintenance, there's always new things that you want to do."
The $1 lease deal was originally struck because Katz fronted about half the costs of building Shaw Park. On Thursday, Katz said he's now open to paying more to lease the land.
However, he argues the Goldeyes already pay a lot in other expenses compared to other teams at similar stadiums.
"We also pay property taxes, business taxes, we pay all the utilities, we pay all the maintenance. We basically pay everything. The city hasn't had to put in a nickel," he said.
The Goldeyes generate about $300,000 in tax revenue for the city, according to Mayes.