Venue Detail
Winston-Salem Dash
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
February, 2011
Winston-Salem Dash
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951 Ballpark Way Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Phone: 336-759-2233 Fax: 336-759-2042 URL: www.wsdash.com
Owner
Billy Prim
League
Carolina League Southern
Venue
BB&T Ballpark, 951 Ballpark Way, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Owner: City of Winston-Salem Managed by: Team Built: 2009 Capacity: 5,500 Concessionaire: Legends Hospitality Management
Naming rights
Sold to: BB&T Corp. Term: 15 years Expires: 2025
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $770 to $1,260 Single tickets range from $6.50 to $8.50
Attendance
2007 average attendance: 2,442 2008 average attendance: 2,575 2009 average attendance: 901
The Dash -- formerly the Warthogs -- and the city came together on a $170 million plan for a ballpark, retail and residential complex on the edge of downtown. Unfortunately, the team’s ownership then fell apart and the project stalled as construction was well underway.
As a result, the Winston-Salem City Council agreed to take over ownership of the downtown ballpark and lease it back to the Dash for 25 years.
The change was part of a new deal with Billy Prim, the local entrepreneur who owns the Winston-Salem Dash, the Class-A minor-league team that will play in the new ballpark. His firm, Brookstown Development Partners and Sports Menagerie will pay property taxes on the ballpark and will be responsible for maintenance.
Construction work on the ballpark had been stopped for months as Prim negotiated a buyout with his former partner and brother-in-law, dot-com entrepreneur Andrew “Flip” Filipowski. The council approved additional financial help for the ballpark.
The city intends to borrow $12.7 million to buy the land under the venue and help pay for construction costs to finish the ballpark.
The project includes a $22.6 million, 5,500-seat ballpark.
The city intends to finance its share of the $11 million, but not use existing tax dollars. The city said it would pay its share of the $1 million annual finance payments from several sources, including: annual payments by Wake Forest University, which will buy Ernie Shore Field; $350,000 in annual surcharges on tickets, a figure guaranteed by Sports Menagerie regardless of team attendance; additional tax payments on the 9-acre stadium site; and money from the city's economic development fund. Ernie Shore Field is the team’s current home. It will be sold for $5.5 million.
Likewise, Sports Menagerie is using a variety of finances, including private financing, federal grants, a loan from the non-profit Millennium Fund and other means to pay its share of the ballpark.
The first phase of the project includes the ballpark. The second phase could include the retail space, residential space and possibly a movie theater and parking decks.
The new ballpark has two suites for game-day rental to groups of 16 to 32 fans.
Founders Club memberships are $2,310 per season. Club seats are $33 per game and club tables are $37 per person per game. (Baseball, Facilities, Financial, MinorLeagueVenueReport, Professional Sports)