Ripken's lawsuit alleges the city has not fulfilled its capital maintenance obligations with the ballparkIRONBIRDS
Cal Ripken Jr.'s Tufton Professional Baseball is "claiming conduct by the City of Aberdeen in recent years has made operating Ripken Stadium 'unbearably difficult,'" and the company has "filed suit accusing the city of not living up to the terms of an agreement made nearly 20 years ago," according to Erika Butler of the BALTIMORE SUN. Tufton's suit "claims the city has recouped its initial investment" into the ballpark project -- the debt service on $3M -- "per a concession agreement entered into Dec. 7, 2000." The lawsuit states that once the city has "recouped its investment," management of the majority of events at the ballpark, which houses the Single-A New York-Penn League Aberdeen IronBirds, becomes the "responsibility of Tufton." The suit also "claims Aberdeen has not fulfilled its obligations to undertake and pay for capital maintenance and improvements" at the ballpark. Tufton is "requesting that the Aberdeen mayor and council live up to the agreement signed 18 years ago" and believes the court action is necessary because "numerous attempts to negotiate with the city, including a mediation session in September, have been unsuccessful." The agreement "expires on Dec. 31, 2022, but Tufton has a right to renew it for an additional 20 years" (BALTIMORE SUN, 10/12).
