Albany-Dougherty EDC has Paul Eames, former Cooper Tire sites on the market

ALBANY – The former home stadium for the Polecats, Alligators, South Georgia Waves and Peanuts could one day be the site for a new team, but the tenant may not wear uniforms. At least not any associated with a baseball franchise.

The Paul Eames Sports Complex, which opened in 1993 with the Albany Polecats, has not hosted a league team since 2008. The 3,000-seat stadium is now the home field for the Dougherty County School System’s three high school teams.

The Albany-Dougherty County Economic Development Commission is marketing the complex, which includes three additional baseball fields, as the potential base for manufacturing and shipping rather than balls and strikes.

The site is close to land owned along the river by the EDC, which combined could create a large site for the right industrial tenant.

“We realized that the projects that we get contacts about are oftentimes needing larger sites,” CDC President and CEO Jana Dyke said. “The way we’re set up, we’re very limited with site availability. We kind of have to think about unconventional (sites) we can use.”

The city of Albany, which owns the sports complex, agreed and the EDC has put out the the word that it is a potential site for an industry.

The location offers several advantages, including proximity to major highways and access to an industrial amount of electricity.

“You’ve got major power lines running through that site,” Dyke said. “Projects today are not only larger, they (need) more power. There’s potential for us to tap into the water and sewer infrastructure.

“The reason the Eames site was something that is of interest for us is it is already in an area that was planned for use that include commerce and industry” on the land owned by the EDC.

The EDC also has been given the green light to market the former east Albany Cooper Tire site by the owner in New York, Dyke said. That 329-acre site is also large and has the bonus of rail access.

“It’s a very prime piece of real estate that can be used (with) fabulous electricity,” she said.

The availability of the prime sites does not mean that Dougherty County can expect a big announcement tomorrow, but it does put it in the ball game when it comes to getting the attention of companies.

“Unfortunately for us, economic development is not a short game, it’s a long game,” Dyke said.

The EDC also is looking at the sites bringing in a minimum $10 million in investment and 100 jobs or more. Those jobs should also be good ones that pay on tier with the wages in the county or better.

“For us, and our organization, we want to better the community,” Dyke said. “Any of the properties we are looking to work with, we want to make sure it’s for the betterment of the community.

“The (Eames) site has been sitting there since the last team played. It’s not used to its full potential.”

One consideration is the proximity of neighborhoods to the stadium complex, said Dougherty County Commissioner and EDC board member Clinton Johnson. The potential for combining that land with the property owned by the EDC is a plus.

“If a company is looking at it, we definitely want them to take advantage of the proximity to the river and the highway,” he said. “It is a community over there. We’ve got to make sure it’s the right use … the right fit in the right place. Sometimes I think that makes a big difference.”

Special Photo: City of AlbanyStaff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
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