Hagerstown Suns

A multiuse sports and events center may not happen after all, and for people like Hagerstown resident Pat Matter, the blame should go in one direction: City Government. “Everybody thought the anonymous donor would come up with the money, but they can't make up their mind,” she said. “One says yes, then one says no; they want to put it one place, then they want to put it somewhere else. It's an odd situation.” Matter, 71, said she would be fine with the downtown stadium “if they had places to park.” Hagerstown City Councilman Lewis C. Metzner said Wednesday that the $15 million from an anonymous donor that could go toward the $37 million multiuse stadium may not happen, reducing the chances for a downtown stadium, where the Hagerstown Suns would play baseball.

With the anonymous $15 million private donation to the City of Hagerstown's proposed downtown multiuse sports and events center all but gone, does that mean that organized baseball will follow suit? Mayor David S. Gysberts and several Hagerstown City Council members on Wednesday said they want to keep the team in town, but it's going to take a different approach, one that has yet to be determined. The $15 million and other private funding, which never materialized as city officials had once hoped, were the main drivers in the $37 million downtown proposal, especially since it would be needed to even ask the state to consider granting another $10 million toward the project.

Does Hub City understand economic development? To the editor: As a former employee of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, I feel compelled to voice my opinion on several projects being proposed by the City of Hagerstown consisting of a multipurpose stadium and an accompanying parking deck. Since 1981, when the Hagerstown Suns first started playing minor league baseball in Municipal Stadium, every owner has expressed concerns about the condition of the 1930 vintage stadium.

With each passing day, the proposal to build a multiuse sports and events center in downtown Hagerstown continues to fade. The city's $37 million stadium project has progressed thus far on the contingency of receiving $15 million from an anonymous donor, but that doesn't appear like it's going to happen, Hagerstown City Councilman Lewis C. Metzner said during the council's meeting Tuesday. “The $15 million that we have been promised is just that - it has always been just that, a promise,” he said.

The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve a two-year lease extension with the Hagerstown Suns to play at Municipal Stadium. The extension would be executed in the same manner as the team's previous lease, which expires Dec. 31, plus a clause that was added to would allow either party to terminate the lease without penalty as long as 90 days notice is given. The Suns currently pay a $1 per year lease payment to play at the 82-year-old ballpark. The city funds maintenance and utilities at the facility.

The annual Woolly Bear Caterpillar Contest might have been on the verge of extinction this year, but kids seemed as excited as ever about the contest, according to organizers, who received more than 300 entries. The contest coincides with the common fall sightings of the woolly bear caterpillar, which can be seen on just about any road or sidewalk this time of the year. It is said that certain characteristics of the caterpillar can be used to forecast the severity of the coming winter.

The mayor and Hagerstown City Council will not meet on Tuesday, Oct. 30, city Clerk Donna Spickler said Friday in an email. During their Oct. 23 meeting, Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II and city council members had differing opinions about whether or not to meet again this month. The Oct. 23 regular session was the last required meeting of the month. Bruchey confirmed Wednesday that city staff were preparing a new Hagerstown Suns lease proposal for review, and hoped to meet with the city council to at least go over changes made from previous proposals.

A multiuse stadium isn't the only issue that divides the two candidates for mayor of Hagerstown. David S. Gysberts, a Democrat, and incumbent Robert E. Bruchey II, a Republican, also disagree on whether the city should buy properties and be a partner in a lobbying coalition. But the stadium issue was the weightiest during Wednesday's candidate forum sponsored by the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce at the Academy Theater. Bruchey has championed a plan to build a new multiuse stadium downtown.