Malden Councillor-at-Large Candidates Discuss National Grid Site, Proposed Ballpark

During a candidates forum co-hosted by the Massachusetts Senior Action Council and Malden Access Television (MATV), the councillor-at-large candidates discussed what they would like to see done with the National Grid property where a 6,500-seat minor league baseball parked has been proposed.

Boston Baseball Field of Dreams LLC, a development group, agreed to a 40-year, $20 million lease of the 6.4-acre National Grid site on Commercial Street in December 2012, according to a Boston Globe report. However, the ballpark’s design requires the purchase of three abutting parcels totaling 2.7 acres currently occupied by L&L Services, a trucking and landscaping company, at 11 Canal St.; Spadafora’s Auto Parts, 129 Charles St.; and Collex auto body repair, at 124 Centre St., reads the report.

Park construction is slated to begin in the fall 2014 and the stadium opening set for 2016, the newspaper reported.

Gladys Rivera Rogers said any conversation about building a facility takes "many years" and the city needs to find out first if they are moving forward with the baseball field, the positives and negatives of the proposal, as well as hear from the community to see what they want.

"Great jobs, great place to play sports...you know just all a lot positive, but then there's another group of individuals that does not want to see it in the City of Malden," she said. "...We need to find out if everything is working right now."

Jay Lamport said he is in favor of the ballpark.

"I grew up in South Portland, Maine, and usually once every year I get back to see the (Portland) Sea Dogs which is the (Boston) Red Sox farm club up there," he said. "It's nice to sit there and see the families gather and they are honoring someone's fifth birthday with a group of 20 kids...It's a whole family event, it's not expensive and they have a good time and that's what's designed for this field."

Lamport did note that he would like to see the project eventually move forward so long as there is no increase in taxes to make it a reality.

Debbie DeMaria said that she is "definitely in favor of a ballpark."

"I envision a beautiful facility not only for a baseball (park), but I envision music, I envision concerts, art shows...I think it's a wonderful addition to our community," DeMaria said, citing the Lowell Spinners facility as a great spot to visit with the family. "...This is a huge thing for Malden, but I do envision a beautiful facility there."

William Coleman stated that he thinks it will be a long time before development will take place at the National Grid site. However, he did say he liked the prospect of having a ballpark there and possibly a hotel built nearby.

"Who wouldn't want a ballpark? Who wouldn't want a concert? It would be beautiful...and if they can make it like the Pawtucket Red Sox we'd all be there at night," he said. 

Craig Spadafora, seeking reelection to the City Council, said he has spent the past four years of his life talking about the baseball park. 

"...It's a great opportunity to bring jobs here, meals tax and revenue to the city, but I'm going to tell you right now...it changes the DNA of that street, it will probably change the DNA of the western part of the city," he said, "but the dark side of that is you can not travel down Commercial Street at 7 a.m. without (taking) 20 minutes (to get) from one side to the other."

Spadafora noted that if City Hall is moved that is more impact to the area. 

"...I want to know the true impact," he said. "Because the last thing a resident wants to do is say that's a great baseball park, but it takes him an hour and a half to get home."

While he recognized there are some good baseball parks out there, Spadafora said "there are a lot more of these Double-A and Triple-A baseball teams that have failed."

"Most people don't know the City of Malden is going to be the one owning that property and we're leasing the property from National Grid," he said. "If that baseball park fails, we the taxpayers are on the hook to fix that (and) tear that facility down."

Spadafora also discussed the potential crime and traffic problems that could be created if concerts are held at the ballpark.

"I think there are a lot more pros than cons, but we have to ask the right questions," he said. 

David D'Arcangelo, seeking reelection to the council, said the site currently "has some challenges" that need to be worked through.

"National Grid owns it now. We have been able to manage to put together a lease with them," he said. "...The National Grid side has contamination. There are some brownfield issues there. One of the upsides of putting the ballpark there would be that it can be capped.

"The ballpark is a potential $40 million investment in downtown Malden, and I think the thought process there is to have these garages the commuters use during the day will empty out in time for the ballpark crowd to come and fill the garages back up."

D'Arcangelo said he has experience working with developers and "I've seen this process (and) I understand it."

"I want to make sure that all the protections are in place for you," he said. "At the end of the day...we're going to be on the hook so we're hoping it's going to be a good thing and we hope that it's going to be a great development that's going to be a centerpiece in Malden downtown for years to come, but what if it's not? We need to make sure we have backup plans in place."

Robert McCarthy was not present for the forum.