Hiring a firm to manage the construction of Bristol’s new baseball facility is on the agenda for Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Three companies responded to the city’s request for proposals, and the city staff is recommending that the council authorize City Manager Randy Eads to enter into a contract with SKANSKA USA Building Inc., according to agenda documents. The company is based in Sweden, with its U.S. headquarters in New York City. It also has an office in nearby Johnson City, Tennessee.
Eads said Monday that there is no official cost estimate for the new stadium, but it’s expected to cost $10 million to $12 million.
In August, city officials announced construction of a multiuse baseball stadium where the Appalachian League’s Bristol State Liners will play. It will also be used by the Virginia High School varsity baseball team and will serve as a venue for concerts, festivals and other community events.
The facility will bring the State Liners back to Bristol, Virginia, where the team and its previous iterations played for more than 50 years before announcing in 2023 a move to Bristol, Tennessee. That city planned to build a new baseball facility, but it never materialized.
The State Liners, a minor league collegiate summer team, played in Greeneville and Johnson City, Tennessee, for the last two seasons.
In October, the city council approved the $1.1 million purchase of an 8.73-acre site for the baseball complex on Bob Morrison Boulevard, adjacent to a Food City store.
Construction is expected to start next spring, with the project’s planned completion in 2027.
Once a project manager is under contract, the city will move forward with a request for proposals for the design and construction of the baseball field and then will hire a contractor as soon as possible, according to the city manager.
Project management services will include the facilitation of the procurement process for a design-build project, according to the request for proposals. The city manager said he wasn’t yet sure Monday what the cost for the contract will be.
The council will also consider on first reading a rezoning request for 185 Washington Lee Drive, the site of the vacant Washington-Lee Elementary School, from single-family residential to moderate-density residential.
The city is in the process of selling the 8-acre property to developers who plan to repurpose the school into apartments. The rezoning was recommended by the city’s planning commission after a public hearing in September.
The school and two others closed in 2024, and the city opened a new school that fall.
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall, 300 Lee St. Here’s the agenda.