Linn supervisors approve lease for ballfield complex

Linn County's lease agreement with Prospect Meadows got done this morning.

Supervisors unanimously approved the non-profit's proposal to lease 121 acres for a softball/baseball complex near the County Home Road-Highway 13 intersection north of Marion.

With a lease agreement in hand, Prospect Meadows can seek funding for the estimated $9.4 million facility. Plans call for 17 baseball and softball diamonds, some with lighting and stadium seating, parking, and a building housing management offices, concessions, and other services.

A county-funded feasibility study found Prospect Meadows' facility could draw 120,000 people a year to tournaments as players and spectators, boosting the local economy by $25 million.'

Prospect Meadows president Jack Roeder said the group will seek foundation grants and private loans for the project. If that happens quickly, work could start this year, but there's no construction  schedule yet.