The status of the Elizabethton Twins Minor League Baseball team is back at square one following a recent announcement made at the Elizabethton City Council meeting held Thursday.
Mayor Curt Alexander addressed attendees at the conclusion of the meeting to announce that the city had received a letter from the Minnesota Twins organizations, the day of the meeting, stating that the organization took their offer of the table, at this time, according to Minnesota Twins president Dave St. Peter.
The letter read:
“Dear Mayor Alexander,
Given the uncertainty of the status of the renovation project at Joe O’Brien Field, and the recent changes in the leadership of the Twins baseball operations department, the Twins conditionally withdraw the team’s offer that was presented in my letter March 21, 2016.
We have heard from an outside 3rd party that the city council is preparing to vote on this project this week, however, because we have no insight into what it included in this proposal, it is in everyone’s best interest to step back and regroup.
The Twins remain open to renewing talks on this renovation project and are available to consider any proposals. It is imperative that we have a full understanding of what is being considered if we are going to include a significant contribution.
We did make a change in our baseball leadership several weeks ago, and hope to name a new general manager by the end of the season. We would like to have a better understanding of this project as we move forward with a new General Manager.
Please forward any questions or concerns and we look forward to further discussions on this project.”
The Twins’ previous offer, which the president eluded to in his letter back in March, was to contribute roughly $595,000, near 33 percent of an estimated $1.8 mil price tag that was needed to address renovations at Joe O’Brien Field.
Minnesota announced the ouster of Terry Ryan of his duties as the GM of the team on Monday, Aug. 8. Assistant GM Rob Antony is currently serving as the leader in the interim.
After reading the letter, Alexander said that the city will work with the organization to take the necessary steps possible to keep the ball club in Carter County.
“The Twins have been a landmark here for 42 years,” the mayor previously told the Elizabethton Star. “We definitely don’t want to see them go.”
After finishing his comments, Richard Barker addressed the board and discussed the history of the Twins’ inception into Carter County due to the efforts of the late Carmon Dugger.
Talks between both parties are expected to continue once the organization comes to an agreement on a new full time GM in Minnesota.