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High Point City Council Will Consider New Ways To Fund Stadium Project

Artist rendering of proposed ballpark in downtown High Point. Image courtesy of the City of High Point.

High Point City Council is holding a special meeting Thursday where city leaders are expected to discuss new ways to fund a proposed baseball stadium downtown.

Supporters of the stadium say timing is important here. That's because a professional baseball team is committed to playing in High Point starting in April 2019. They say if the team has no stadium, the deal could fall apart.

City leaders also say the project is crucial to revitalizing downtown.

Opponents argue that the local government shouldn't spend public money to build stadiums, and are concerned about too much competition from neighboring cities.

Guilford County Commissioners recently voted to delay a decision to provide some financial support for the project.

That's not stopping city leaders from moving forward with their plans. Last month, council approved $5 million for demolition and design costs to jumpstart the project.

High Point University president Nido Qubein says he's also raised around $50 million in private money to support the project and additional development around the ballpark, which includes a museum, apartments and restaurants.

High Point City Council says there will be a presentation and consideration of a financing plan for the multi-use stadium during Thursday's special meeting. It will be held at 2 p.m. in the municipal building.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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