Brick dust will fill the air at Joe O’Brien Field for at least one more season of minor league baseball.
The Minnesota Twins organization notified the City of Elizabethton Wednesday that the Elizabethton Twins will extend their contract for the 2017 season as talks continue to renovate the team’s field for future usage.
Elizabethton Mayor Curt Alexander told the Elizabethton Star Wednesday evening that he received emails from the Brad Steil, Minnesota’s director of minor league operations, stating the organization will have the Twins back for another season while negotiations take place to renovate Joe O’Brien Field.
The one-year extension of the contract will be under the same terms and conditions under the management agreement signed in 2014. While not a full time commitment, the mayor added the news is a step forward in the right direction.
Alexander said he spoke with Minnesota Twins President Dave St. Peter, adding the president understood the value the team has to the city and look forward to working toward renovations.
“It’s exciting,” Alexander added about the development. “The Elizabethton Twins mean a lot to the community and we’re looking forward to working with Minnesota to come up with an agreement to keep them here for the future.”
Elizabethton Twins General Manager and Parks & Recreation Director Mike Mains added the development is a positive step in the right direction as the city and Minnesota will work over the next 60 days to come up with a renovation plan for Joe O’Brien Field.
The city recently created the Elizabethton Twins Task Force to address the needs for renovating Joe O’Brien Field. During the November City Council meeting, the group compiled a $3.2 renovation proposal, which the City Council unanimously passed to the noise of applause from citizens at the meeting.
Part A & B of renovations would include construction of a new Elizabethton Twins clubhouse facility, renovations to the other clubhouses, stadium seating, Riverside Park improvements and the replacement of a stadium knee wall along with safety netting – pegged at $2,368,000. The second part of renovations includes the construction of a new press box, additional stadium seating upgrades and the building of a new picnic area – set to cost $832,000. The proposal included the possibility of the Twins contributing one-third of the funding.
The ability to have the upgrades will not only benefit the baseball team, but help with community development and the field’s usage for Elizabethton High School’s baseball team, the E-Twins GM added.
“This is a great opportunity,” Mains said. “We have the opportunity to hear what Minnesota will bring to the table. If we’re able to work out a plan for the renovations, we have a chance to keep a successful minor league team that has produced multiple major league players in our city and also have a primer facility for our high school team to play in.”