PEORIA (25News Now) – The Peoria City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve two measures to secure funding for renovations to Dozer Park, where the Peoria Chiefs play baseball.
The first item was to change the financial plan to reflect these changes, and the second measure was to approve an amended redevelopment agreement.
The changes will help the Chiefs pay for safety upgrades for fans, improvements to the ball diamond, and upgrades to the players’ locker room.
Previously, tax increment financing was used to support infrastructure surrounding the stadium.
“Going forward, we’re going to use the TIF Increment–if this development agreement is approved–to fund some rehabilitation of the existing facility to bring it up to modern minor league standards, which is a requirement for their ongoing affiliations with the various leagues,” said Peoria City Attorney Patrick Hayes.
The Chiefs will submit annual reimbursement requests, and if there are TIF eligible expenditures, those will be reimbursed by the city.
“They only pay a little more than a $100,000 a year in taxes, so they’ll be reimbursed for that,” City Manager Patrick Urich told 25 News, “Then that will cover a portion of the cost of the redevelopment.”
The reimbursements are expected to cover $1.8 million of the park’s improvement expenses. It would also leave the Chiefs to pay for more than $980,000 worth of renovations themselves.
The agreement has always had the provision that if the Chiefs are out of TIF reimbursement, the city will dip into the general fund. Hayes does not expect this to happen in the near future.
As of now, the TIF district will be terminated in 2035.
You can watch 25News – any newscast, anywhere – streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.
Copyright 2024 WEEK. All rights reserved.
