Ballpark announcement raises concerns from city

JACKSON, Tenn. — As we reported Thursday, the Jackson Generals announced they’ve invited the Winnepeg Goldeyes to play ball at the Ballpark at Jackson for the summer. But did they have the authority to do so? That’s what the City of Jackson is now calling into question.

Late Thursday afternoon, the City of Jackson issued their response.

It calls the club’s announcement “inaccurate,” saying the city actually owns the Ballpark at Jackson and lease it to the Generals.

Also, because Jackson Generals lost their AA baseball affiliation, their lease to use the ballpark has been terminated. And the city was unaware the ball club made this unauthorized agreement with the Goldeyes.

The city says for the Generals to keep their agreement with the city, they would need a team affiliated with Major League Baseball to play there. The Goldeyes are part of the American Association of Professional Baseball, not in the major league system.

We reached out to both the City of Jackson and the ball club, asking them to elaborate on their respective statements. The city says they could not elaborate, and the Generals did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

Also in the statement, General Manager Marcus Sabata said the team plans to come back in 2022 under the reconstructed southern league, now known as the “South League.”

But will we have baseball in Jackson this summer? That’s still up in the air. The city says the Jackson Generals have until May 28 to vacate the stadium.

According to the Generals’ announcement, the Goldeyes are scheduled to start playing at the ballpark May 21 — a week before the city says they need to leave.

We contacted the Goldeyes as well. President Sam Katz told us they were aware of the ongoing dispute, and with any dispute, they are paying attention to it, but they are looking forward to playing in Jackson this summer.

For more local news coverage, click here.