The $12 million redevelopment of Hartford’s Dillon Stadium appears in doubt, following revelations that a key developer has a 16-year-old felony conviction for embezzlement and more recent legal judgments for unpaid debts.
The Hartford Courant reported this week that Somers resident and former arena football player James C. Duckett was convicted in 1999 for embezzlement, related to work he did for a staffing agency.
News of Duckett’s legal problems come after a previous developer for Dillon Stadium sued the city, alleging officials wrongfully terminated its “preferred developer” status on the project. The suit is still open.
In addition to Duckett’s felony conviction, Duckett lost a handful of civil judgments totaling $119,000, the Courant reported.
Reached by phone Thursday, City Council President Shawn T. Wooden said the revelations have made him decide he won’t support the stadium redevelopment. He also has concerns about Black Diamond’s ability to finance the deal.
“I have enough concerns that I’ve decided I’m not supporting this project,” Wooden said. “The principal involved is not a principal we should be doing business with.”
Wooden said he has requested that the council take off its agenda an Oct. 19 lease proposal hearing with Black Diamond.
Wooden, a partner at Day Pitney, said he began performing his own research last week in preparation for that hearing, and began to find some of the past legal judgments.
He said he’s disappointed the city did not perform due diligence on Duckett prior to the matter coming before the council.
Hartford had allocated $12 million in its budget over the next three years to redevelop the 9,600-seat stadium. Duckett and his partners had pledged to secure private financing and had also hoped to bring a pro soccer team — Hartford City FC – to play in the new stadium as a member of the North American Soccer League.
The developers announced in August that Hartford City FC would play 10 games at the XL Center starting next month, as a member of the Major Arena Soccer League. Capital Region Development Authority Executive Director Michael Freimuth said Thursday that CRDA was cautious with the language in its agreement with the soccer team. He also said the deal has been negotiated but not executed.
“We’re assessing the situation in light of yesterday’s story,” Freimuth said. “Because we recognized that there is quite limited experience across the country with indoor soccer use of arenas, we included protective language in our agreement with Hartford FC eliminating financial risk to the building that requires early payment upfront for use of the facility prior to any event.”
A request for comment sent to Black Diamond through its website was not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.
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