SALISBURY — State and local officials this week got their first look at an independent study suggesting over $5 million in various improvements to the nearly 20-year-old Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, but neither a firm timetable nor an agreed-upon financing plan for the enhancements has been announced.
The Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) commissioned Crossroads Consulting Services to produce a study of the existing Arthur W. Perdue Stadium to determine what improvements will be needed in the near future to keep the facility economically and aesthetically viable. Just as important is the need to maintain the MSA and county partnership with the Delmarva Shorebirds, the stadium’s main occupant since it opened nearly 20 years ago.
The intent of the study was to improve the marketability of the stadium, enhance the investments made by the public and private sectors and maximize the economic and fiscal impacts of the facility in the community. Essentially, the study outlines the framework for keeping the stadium economically viable while providing an enhanced experience for the fans and community that utilizes it.
The proposals currently on the table and under negotiation include enhancements to fan amenities, seating improvements, parking additions and a rehabilitation of the existing structure. Rehabilitating the existing facilities and the field itself would cost $1.9 million, while the proposed seating improvements come in at $820,000. The plans call for a 360-degree Boardwalk of sorts around the field’s perimeter to enhance the visitor experience at the tune of around $460,000.
Enhanced fan amenities including luxury box level improvements, a video board and other repairs and upgrades would cost $920,000 under the proposal. Improvements to the stadium’s entry, including façade improvements, new signage, landscaping, a Hall of Fame façade and a statue of Arthur W. Perdue, the stadium’s namesake, would cost an estimated $750,000. Finally, the addition of 340 parking spaces would cost around $850,000.
An enhanced Perdue Stadium would result in $15.6 million in direct and indirect spending and 200 local jobs, according to the study.
With proposed improvements now on the table, the next step in the process will be to determine enhancements to undertake, and perhaps more importantly, how to fund them. Negotiations are currently pending between the MSA, Wicomico County and the Shorebirds to renew the ball club’s lease into the next decade and improvements to the stadium could be a lynchpin in the process.