Sales tax rebate advances for Prospect Meadows

DES MOINES — The proposed 17-field baseball and softball complex northeast of Marion would be eligible for a sales tax rebate of up to $2.5 million under a bill advanced by a Senate subcommittee.

Prospect Meadows, an $11 million project, would be eligible for a tax rebate on future revenue.

It is the same rebate the state in 2012 pledged to a proposed youth baseball and softball complex at the 'Field of Dreams' movie site near Dyersville. That project has not yet come to fruition.

Both projects would be eligible for the rebate, legislators said.

The Linn County Supervisors is expected to donate $1.5 million to the project, with the city of Cedar Rapids providing $1 million from hotel/motel taxes once Prospect Meadows is open.

The project at Highway 13 and County Home Road has been in development five years as backed have worked to put together the project's financing. The goal is to have the fields ready for games in 2017.

The complex's principal tenant will be Perfect Game, a national baseball scouting enterprise in Cedar Rapids, which is expected to attract regional and national tournaments.