Senate Minority Leader Len Fassano is calling on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to boycott providing any relief for the Dunkin’ Donuts minor league baseball stadium being built in Hartford. The stadium is currently $10 million over budget and behind schedule.
As reported previously at HartfordBusiness.com, the potential $10 million cost overrun to build Hartford’s minor-league ballpark makes it highly unlikely the stadium will be ready for the spring start of the baseball season, threatening the credibility of the city and the builder, city and team officials say. The developer and city are pointing fingers at each other about which side is responsible.
Fassano said in a statement that the state can’t afford to bail out the stadium because it has its own financial problems. “I sincerely hope Hartford can figure out a way to move forward with their stadium, which the city has already invested in enormously. But that solution cannot involve a dime of state taxpayer money,” Fasano said.
The Senate minority leader also reminded Malloy of his June 2014 statement that the state would in no way be involved in financing the project. “When plans for the DoNo Hartford stadium were first proposed, the governor made it clear that this was not a state project. I hope he remains true to his word. Taxpayers should not have to shoulder another statewide burden,” Fassano said.
