Groton and Baseball Team Near Agreement On Ball Field Debt

The Groton Board of Education will vote Monday on an agreement that would allow the Mystic Schooners to play in Groton for the 2012 and 2013 seasons and start paying off the debt owed for improvements to the Fitch High School ball field.

In August 2013, the agreement with the Bristol Collegiate Baseball Club, Inc. -  which runs the Mystic Schooners - would be terminated unless the town and board agreed to extend the contract, according to a copy of the draft agreement.

The school board will vote on the draft agreement during a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the school administration building.

The New England Collegiate Baseball League team moved to Groton from Bristol in June 2011, after improvements were made at the Fitch High School baseball field at to accommodate the team.

Groton received $500,000 from an anonymous donor for the field, but then the project cost more than expected. The team , leaving $144,000 in unpaid bills.

The dispute led to about the project.

According to the draft agreement, the town and school board paid $144,012 in unpaid invoices, then sent a notice terminating the agreement with the baseball club.

Then the three sides met and agreed to resolve their issues, and allow the team to continue using the Fitch for the next two seasons.

“…the intent of this amendment is to establish a cooling off period during the 2012 and 2013 seasons to allow the parties, during such period, to strive to gain a more positive working experience with one another…” the agreement said.

The draft agreement added that the town, school board and team could assess the team’s finances and whether collegiate baseball is economically viable in Groton.

The agreement would terminate on Aug. 16, 2013 unless the board and town extend it or it ended earlier.

Under the agreement, the baseball corporation would be required to pay 17 percent of its gross annual sign revenues – advertising revenue - to the Fitch High School Activity Fund or whatever fund the school board deemed appropriate.

Money paid to the baseball corporation as a part of revenue sharing would be applied to the debt it owed to the town and school board.

The baseball corporation would also be required to provide copies of its tax returns, financial statements and other financial documents the town and school board might seek.

No further improvements – such as installations of bathrooms - would be made to the field.  Instead, the bathrooms next to the Fitch gymnasium would be made available during games, camps and practices, as long as the corporation paid the costs to supply, maintain and clean them.

School board custodians and not private contractors would have to be used, according to the agreement.