The Rockies and the Metropolitan Baseball Stadium District yesterday "reached a 30-year lease agreement for Coors Field" worth $200M, according to Erin Powell of Denver-based KUSA-NBC. Only $75M of that is to "rent Coors Field itself," while the other $125M will be "paid to the District to lease" the West Lot parking area for 99 years. The Rockies will pay $2.5M "for 30 years to rent Coors Field." Of that, $1M will "go toward the rent" and $1.5M will "go straight to the fund for future improvements." The West Lot payments are "front-loaded, where the District receives" $7.5M each year "for the first five years," followed by $5M a year for 15 years, then $1.25M for 10 years. For years 31-99, the Rockies will "only pay $100 each year." For all 99 years, the Rockies will "get to keep the revenue it generates from developing the land." After the lease is up, the District "gets the land back." During negotiations, the Rockies "wanted to buy the 'West Lot.'" The team "proposed creating a Hall of Fame there, or some sort of ballpark experience area, as well as apartments and offices." The contract also allows the Rockies and the District to "jointly develop Lots A and B, which are closest to Coors Field." However, the board said that would be "unlikely any time soon" (9NEWS.com, 3/29). In Denver, Nick Groke notes the deal comes after "four years of difficult negotiations designed to keep the team at Coors Field for 30 years." Coors Field will be 53 years old in '47 (DENVER POST, 3/30).
