Generals announce events as city says team has to leave Ballpark
JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson Generals are making major plans for the Ballpark at Jackson.
The Generals announced plans to expand entertainment at the Ballpark for this summer and into next year.
State Rep. Chris Todd says the additional entertainment options at the Ballpark will help give the community more opportunity for entertainment.
“I think a lot of folks are excited about that. We missed last year, and I think folks are ready to get back out and enjoy some good baseball, and wrestling, and concerts, so there’s a lot of things planned for the Ballpark,” Todd said.
But the events are just the beginning.
After losing their major league affiliation, the Ballpark announced Thursday that they will still have baseball this summer.
The Winnipeg Goldeyes, an American Association of Professional Baseball team, have chosen to play at the Ballpark due to issues caused by COVID-19 on the other side of the border.
“The Winnipeg Goldeyes, due to COVID restrictions, just didn’t have a place to play north of the border, so they reached out to us and needed a place to play for the summer of 2021, and we were happy to assist,” said Jackson Generals General Manager Marcus Sabata.
The team hasn’t announced a full season yet, but they plan to play a 53 game schedule.
Sabata also says the Jackson Generals will resume play in a reconstructed Southern League beginning in April of next year.
These announcements come after the city of Jackson had previously announced they would be terminating their lease agreement with the Ballpark at Jackson and the Jackson Generals.
That was scheduled to happen back at the end of February.
Todd says this expansion will bring in plenty of revenue for the city.
“Well there’s no doubt that this is going to bring in a tremendous amount of revenue both hotel and motel tax, sales tax, fuel tax, all of those things people will utilize as they travel from other parts of our reason,” he said.
Sabata also said the full season schedule for the Goldeyes is expected to be released soon.
However, the home schedule will kick off with a three game schedule with the Chicago Dogs from May 21 through May 23.
The city of Jackson released a statement late Thursday afternoon, saying the announcement is inaccurate and that the Jackson Baseball Club, owner of the Jackson Generals, remains in breach of their agreement.
The statement says the Club could not provide proof of an affiliated AA team prior to March 12, and the city notified the Club on April 28 that they would not be able to use or occupy the Ballpark past May 28.
The Goldeyes are not an affiliated A, AA, or AAA team, the statement says, and the city says they were not aware of Thursday’s announcement.
To read the full statement from the city of Jackson, click here.
