The agreement in principle, announced Thursday, could potentially bring double-A baseball to the stadium, which is currently being used by the Intercounty Baseball League Ottawa Fat Cats, by 2013.
This is pending approval of the terms of the lease, as well as negotiations with league officials.
Beacon Sports, a Massachusetts-based limited liability corporation, says on its website that it specializes in "the professional sports industry and related businesses."
Past franchises it has helped sell or acquire include the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The terms of the proposed lease are as follows:
- The team will lease the facility for 10 years, with two five-year extension options, with "an AA member club" of the Eastern League Minor League Baseball to play at the stadium. The name of the franchise will not be released until all approvals are secured.
- The city will increase the base rent 240 per cent to $257,000 annually, from $108,000, for the initial 10-year lease and the first five-year extension. That will, a release stated, "contribute significantly towards recovering various start-up costs in order to prepare the stadium for the spring of 2013."
- Beacon will put $2 million into the stadium for "player development improvements" and also lease a new scoreboard that would cost about $1 million.
- The city will spend $2.7 million for "various deferred lifecycle improvements" and another $3 million to upgrade the stadium to Minor League Baseball standards.
- Both parties would contribute equal, but so far undisclosed, amounts into a lifecycle reserve fund.
The stadium is currently used by The Fat Cats under a parent-group lease with the Ottawa Stadium Group that expires in March. The status of that team was not mentioned in the release.
The report will go before the city's finance and economic development committee Feb. 16 and is expected to reach city council Feb. 22.
Beacon's interest in the stadium first became public in October, when its offer to lease the facility caused the city to seek expressions of interest.
It was a significant shift from city staff's position earlier in 2011, when they stated that baseball was not a sustainable use for the stadium.
"There is little or no current evidence to indicate that a purpose-built baseball stadium can be financially sustained in the long-term by reliance on a professional or semi-professional baseball being the predominant use for the facility," a report in March read.
"The financial viability of maintaining the stadium structure for the long-term will likely be dependent of the ability to attract a significant number of other customer paying events."
The March report recommended converting the stadium to a mixed-use facility for events, such as concerts.
The current tenant, OSG, was the only respondent to a December 2009 request by city staff for "best offers to lease" the stadium, which was awarded in March 2010.
The stadium was first built for the triple-A Ottawa Lynx, who played there from 1992 until poor attendance caused the franchise to move out of the city after the 2008 season. The Ottawa Rapidz then used the facility for a season, until they folded.
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