Will Knights seek public funds for stadium upgrades?

CHARLOTTE — By next season, the Charlotte Knights will have a new main scoreboard and more employees. And they will be well down the road analyzing whether to replace a portion or all of their field with artificial turf or keep their existing natural grass playing surface.

Those are among the priorities detailed by Knights Chief Operating Officer Dan Rajkowski in an interview with CBJ.

Last week, CBJ reported the Triple A baseball team commanded a sale price in the range of $100 million from New York-based Diamond Baseball Holdings, or DBH. DBH, after adding the Knights, owns 35 of the 120 minor league clubs governed by Major League Baseball.

Rajkowski and others in the industry have pointed to DBH’s deep pockets and extensive minor league portfolio as advantages that will boost revenue and accelerate stadium improvements.

The Knights own the ballpark and lease the land it sits on from Mecklenburg County. Rajkowski said it’s too early to forecast what ballpark renovations will come beyond scoreboard and video production updates.

He left open the possibility of a mix of team and local government funding for stadium renovations, referring to maintaining Truist Field as a civic asset in the vein of similar commitments at Spectrum Center and Bank of America Stadium.

Rajkowski also talked about his role in the sale and future with the team, top priorities and more. Read the full story on CBJ’s website here.

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