Lou Presutti, owner of Cooperstown Dreams Park, met with the Newberry Commission Monday and made his decision between two potential park sites.
Newberry and Presutti have been working together to bring the $7 million 16-field ballpark to town for more than a year.
The move Monday brings the park one step closer to being a reality.
After the past year of back-and-forth and a recent complication that jeopardized the whole project, Presutti said he is only 90 days away from breaking ground on the project.
The ballpark will be paid for using tourist development revenues, or bed tax increase, meaning that it will not be paid for by local residents, but by those staying in hotels throughout Alachua County.
Presutti said he chose the property owned by Stefan Davis over the Green property because it was on the corner, already paved and had “Americana” railroad tracks running through it.
The property site is 40 acres, but could expand to 80 or even 120 acres as the project continues to develop.
“I know this sounds ambitious, but it’s not prohibitive to have 32 ball fields here,” Presutti said Monday. “It’s not prohibitive for this to be the largest baseball site in the world.”
Presutti said the initial groundbreaking will be in about 90 days, but he also is looking forward to an expansion from 16 fields to 32 fields that could take place within three years.
“We see the growth of youth baseball only stopping in this country because there aren’t enough fields.”
Commissioner Bill Conrad expressed his support for the project.
“I think this is a monumental thing that’s about to happen in Newberry,” Conrad said. “I’m a big fan of baseball and love the positive energy that’s created by young people playing baseball. I’m thrilled about what it can do for our town.”
Presutti said a lot of the credit goes to Richard Blalock, Newberry director of parks and recreation.
Blalock is doing a lot for Newberry and youth baseball nationwide, Presutti said.
“I’m certainly going to tap his resources and his knowledge to make him kind of a liaison between the city and what we’re doing out there. You people are very fortunate to have a guy of this caliber.”
I think the biggest winner of all is youth baseball nationally … provided by Newberry. You guys are the one’s setting the stage for it.”
