By Jessie Burchette
Salisbury Post
A deal that would have allowed the city of Kannapolis to buy 50 percent ownership in the authority that controls Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium is off the table.
The Rowan County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to retract an offer made to the city in February.
“This is effective Aug. 6 at 7:42 p.m.,” said Chairman Arnold Chamberlain who made the motion to retract the offer.
County Attorney Jay Dees advised the action, offering a very non-legal reason. “It will make me sleep better at night.” He said the city and county can start all over.
Following the meeting, Dees said Kannapolis has had five months and that’s long enough.
The county is proceeding with a comprehensive appraisal to determine the value of the stadium and the 40-plus acres that surround the facility adjacent to I-85 at Lane Street.
Officials have speculated that the land, now or in the near future, will be worth much more than the original investment in the stadium.
The agreement, which was initially drawn up two or more years ago, recognizes that the county contributed 75 percent of the total cost of the stadium, with Kannapolis contributing 25 percent.
The equity agreement stipulated that the county paid $5.1 million while Kannapolis contributed $1.7 million.The agreement specified that the city could re-purchase up to 50 percent equity in the Sports Authority for $2.4 million which represented $1.7 million in principal and $628,000 in accrued interest.
Chamberlain signed the equity agreement on Feb. 26 and forwarded it to Kannapolis City official who had assured County Manager Bill Cowan it would be signed.
Since that time, Kannapolis officials have found several problems with the agreement.
The agreement which has been in place since 1994 when the stadium project got under way shows that Kannapolis and Rowan County would share the costs equally and have an equal role in the operations of the stadium, through a commission, the Rowan County / Kannapolis Regional Sports Authority.
That authority hasn’t met in years and basically ceased to exist shortly after the stadium was built. It exists now only on paper, although both the Board of Commissioners and Kannapolis City Council have voted to disband it.
After Kannapolis city officials refused to be involved in maintenance of the stadium and grounds, the county assumed total responsibility for the upkeep.