After agreeing to build a $75 million stadium to lure a minor-league baseball team to Wichita, city officials now plan to sell the land around the stadium to the team owners for $1 an acre.
Wichita Riverfront LP, a partnership that was created to develop the area around the stadium, would buy 24 acres west of downtown for $24, or a dollar less than a city parking ticket.
The sale would include 3.5 acres of riverfront property on the west bank of the Arkansas River that has not been appraised. The rest of the property is valued at $805,600, according to Sedgwick County Appraiser’s Office records. The ballpark developers’ majority owner, Lou Schwechheimer, said the city will come out ahead in the deal. Schwechheimer, who is moving the Triple-A Baby Cakes from New Orleans to Wichita, said the ballpark and surrounding area will be a catalyst for economic growth across Wichita.
“We are absolutely going to give the fans and the residents of Wichita and the surrounding areas our very best effort every day, and we’re going to give so much more than we are going to take,” Schwechheimer said.
(Read more: Wichita Eagle)