Court: Mecklenburg Co. can build new stadium for Knights

By April Bethea - The Charlotte Observer

CHARLOTTE -- A state appeals court on Tuesday agreed that Mecklenburg County had authority to allow the Charlotte Knights to build a minor-league baseball stadium on public land in Third Ward, near Bank of America Stadium, upholding a decision by a judge last year.

But it still isn't clear when or if the Knights will play uptown. For now, the team is working on finishing a deal to stay at its current home in Fort Mill for the next four years and will discuss the uptown project's future later, said general manager Dan Rajkowski.

The legal fight isn't over just yet. Jerry Reese, who has filed multiple lawsuits to stop the uptown ballpark, said he plans to ask the N.C. Supreme Court for a “discretionary review” of the case.

“So long as I have breath and subsistence, I will continue to fight this ill-advised, backward-looking transaction in the hope that some day our elected leaders will implement a vision which will move Charlotte forward to be the great urban center it has the potential to be,” Reese said in an e-mail.

County commissioners agreed last year to let the Knights build a stadium on about 8 acres of county-owned land.

Reese argued the lease was invalid, in part, because two past bond packages approved by voters called for using the land for a county park, and that leaders agreed not to put professional baseball there.

But Superior Court Judge David Lee dismissed the suit in July 2008, ruling that the lease was legal. He also ruled the county did not act inappropriately or illegally in using bond money to do some site work before replacing it with other funds.

On Tuesday, the appellate panel said, in part, that state statutes allowed the county land to be used for the baseball stadium, and there was no “substantial deviation” from the purpose of the park bonds.

Reese has filed five lawsuits against a complex land deal that paved the way for the stadium. All of the suits have been dismissed by lower courts, and the N.C. Court of Appeals has upheld three of the rulings.

Oral arguments were heard recently in a fourth case, while a decision is pending in the remaining suit.

In the meantime, the litigation has stifled efforts to begin major construction on the stadium. The team had hoped to be playing in uptown this season. But it still hasn't closed on afinancing deal for the project.

Rajkowski said the team is continuing to talk to its banks and county leaders about the project.