Gastonia wants Honey Hunters to give up rights to stadium in new lawsuit

GASTONIA, N.C. — The City of Gastonia wants the courts to force the Gastonia Honey Hunters out of their stadium.

A lawsuit filed last week says the baseball team was forced out of the Atlantic League. It alleges that the Honey Hunters failed to pay their $36,000 naming rights and gas bill, and they allowed mold and “extremely poor” conditions at their stadium.

“There was a gas service interruption at the Stadium due to the Defendant Team’s failure to make payment,” the lawsuit reads.

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The city said it has no faith that the team will pay their bills, saying the “team has a history of materially breaching the Agreements and failing to meet its financial obligations.”

In September 2022, according to the suit, the team saw a 50% increase in its utility bill because its toilets were left running. In addition, an “unattended leak” led to mold being discovered in the first aid room, the suit alleges.

All the allegations mean the Honey Hunters violated their agreement with the City of Gastonia, and the city said they “will continue to do so without judicial intervention.”

The city is asking the baseball team to pay for its upkeep and is asking them to leave the stadium so they can find a new team. It characterized the current situation as ”a troubling pattern of improper maintenance which will diminish the life expectancy and value of the premises.”

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of issues that have surrounded the Gastonia Honey Hunters. Channel 9 first learned about the organization’s deep debt over the summer. In July, police officers working off duty said the team wasn’t paying them and baseball players said they weren’t getting paid either.

The team and the city were working to resolve the issue and the Honey Hunters were reportedly working on a way to pay their debt back.

Channel 9 has reached out to the Honey Hunters for comment.

“The Team/NC Gas House Gang, LLC has engaged legal counsel to address this matter. Given that this is a legal affair and out of respect for the privacy of all the parties involved, we are limited in what information we can share at this current time,” a statement from the chief operating officer reads. “However, we look forward to providing additional information as soon as we can. We thank everyone for the continued support!”

The Atlantic League confirmed it terminated the Honey Hunters’ membership, adding that it does intend to bring a team to Gastonia in 2024.

(WATCH PREVIOUS: Honey Hunters catch up on missed payments to Gastonia, county)

Honey Hunters catch up on missed payments to Gastonia, county

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