Derks Field emerged the winner Tuesday in Salt Lake City's hunt for a place to build a new baseball stadium.
Mayor Deedee Corradini announced the choice less than a week after the City Council recommended Derks as one of two possible sites. Her decision means professional baseball will remain at 1300 South and West Temple, where it has been for most of this century.And it was seen as a victory for popular sentiment.
"I am aware of the outpouring of popular feeling for Derks," Cor-ra-dini said, referring to petitions signed by fans who wanted the stadium to stay where it is. "It definitely was the overwhelming popular choice."
But the mayor said she doesn't know what her decision means for the Salt Lake Trappers, the city's current professional team. Architects who helped study where to place the stadium have said a tight construction schedule will keep the Trappers from playing this summer.
The city has signed a contract with the Portland Beavers, a triple-A team, to move to Salt Lake City once the stadium is finished. Triple-A is the highest level of professional baseball next to the major leagues. The Trappers play in a rookie league, the lowest level.
Trappers General Manager Dave Baggott, while praising the mayor for choosing the Derks site, said he expects the team to play, or else.
"The possibility of this getting ugly is there, but I don't think anyone wants to see that happen," he said. "This should be the start of a good thing. We look forward to seeing the stadium progress after we finish our season."
The mayor also still must find a way to pay for the project, estimated to cost $18 million. She has committed $3.7 million in city funds, but she wants similar commitments from Salt Lake County, the state and a private donor, none of which has complied yet.
However, the city plans to proceed, will hire an architect in coming weeks and hopes the money soon will be available.
Corradini began looking for a place to build a new stadium last spring after condemning two large sections of Derks. The stadium, built in 1947, is decaying rapidly, according to a study by structural engineers.
Her decision runs counter to the wishes of Salt Lake's downtown business leaders, who preferred a site closer to downtown merchants, where fans presumably could shop before and after games.
Corradini said last year she preferred a downtown site, going so far as to recommend building at Pioneer Park before protests forced her to back off.
But Corradini now says she believes Derks soon will be considered downtown.
"In 10 years, it will be very much downtown," she said. "And we do need to do something there to revitalize that area."
Corradini said money was a big factor in her choice. Extra land at Derks was estimated to cost $750,000, compared with $3.4 million at the other favored site, a downtown area known as Block 42.
City officials have been asking property owners on both sites whether they are willing to sell, including seven homeowners who live beyond Derks' outfield walls and who will lose their homes as the much-larger stadium is built.
Corradini said those people were willing to negotiate, particularly after she offered to help pay moving costs.
"We want to be fair," she said. "People have said they will cooperate."
Timing was another factor. The city contract with the Beavers obligates it to finish the stadium by the end of March 1994.
Block 42, between 400 and 500 South and 200 and 300 West, may be saturated with oil from a gas station and other similar buildings that once stood there. Corradini said cleanup may have delayed the project too long.
The block also is home to two historic houses, and at least one owner has said she doesn't want to sell.
City officials hope to begin breaking ground at Derks this summer.
Trappers officials remain perplexed as to why the city can't wait until mid-August to begin tearing down the current stadium, thus allowing them to play one last season before the Portland team comes.
Corradini said she would like to help, if possible. Trappers owner Jack Donovan held talks with city officials in recent weeks, trying to find a compromise.
"The consultants say it's not physically possible," Corradini said. "But we're more than willing to listen and be open. However, we can't commit at this time that they can play."
However, Corradini said she doesn't think the lack of baseball for one season will hurt professional baseball in the city.
"We're not convinced that is a major issue," she said. "I think there will be a lot of excitement for the new team and the new stadium."
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S.L. County has plan to help fund stadium
Now that Salt Lake City has chosen to build its stadium at Derks Field, Salt Lake County has a plan to help fund it.
County Commissioner Randy Horiuchi said Tuesday he is arranging to borrow at least $3 million from county property-tax collections, to be paid back in coming years from a 1 percent sales tax levied last year on restaurants. The money will cover the county's portion of the stadium costs.
Horiuchi, who made no secret of his preference for the Derks site, said the county has waited to commit money because it didn't want to be seen as forcing Mayor Deedee Corradini to pick Derks.
"A lot of people thought we were holding a big club over her head, and that just wasn't right," Horiuchi said. "She (Corradini) needed to make the right decision for the right reasons."