While ink dries on an agreement between the City of Wilmington, Mandalay, and the Atlanta Braves for a $37 million multi-purpose stadium, a group local of business leaders are launching an outreach campaign supporting a bond referendum to fund the project. WHQR’s Sara Wood spoke with Terry Spencer, who’s heading the Wilmington Family Entertainment and Baseball Committee.
Terry Spencer is a retired banker and a huge baseball fan. He says while Mandalay Sports and the Atlanta Braves will contribute financially to the campaign, the majority of the support will come from the local grassroots level.
“It’s our intent to spread the message voter by voter. What we have found is the more we have talked to people about what actually this is going to be, the more favorable has been the response. There is a misconception this is about baseball. It’s about making Wilmington a better place to live, work and play. It’s about economic development. It’s about a source of civic pride. This is about Wilmington, this is about us.”
The “Vote No Stadium Tax” group opposes funding the stadium, and is campaigning against the bond referendum, which voters will decide on in November.