The Triple-A PCL Nashville Sounds' new First Tennessee Park will cost the city's Metro Sports Authority $10M "more than originally expected because of unforeseen issues" with construction, according to Joey Garrison of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. The budget overage "will bump the construction costs" of the city-financed ballpark from $37M to $47M, "propelling the overall cost of the project" to $75M. Mayor Karl Dean's administration said that the higher price tag "will not require floating another set of bonds or any sort of tax hike." Garrison reported the "plan is to transfer" $5M in "tax increment financing" from the Metro Development and Housing Agency's Jackson Redevelopment District. Sounds Owner Frank Ward has "committed to contributing" an extra $2M, which will "cover the cost of the stadium upgrades, including the scoreboard" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 3/19).
UNSETTLED DEBT: In Birmingham, Joseph Bryant reported the City Council "has delayed for a month a proposal to pay" $4.1M to "settle a construction debt dispute" with Robins & Morton and A.G. Gaston Construction over Regions Field, the home of the Double-A Southern League Birmingham Barons. The dispute has "lingered nearly two years after the project was completed, but the council just learned about the issue last month." The dispute "arose over construction costs that exceeded" the $64M price tag for the publicly financed ballpark (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 3/18).
