Cleburne’s ‘future gateway’: Minor-league stadium with nearby shopping, hotels

City officials announced plans Thursday for a $100 million retail and entertainment center at the southeast corner of U.S. 67 and Chisholm Trail Parkway, promising not only new shopping and dining options but also the return of minor-league baseball after more than a century.

Now it’s up to the voters.

Mayor Scott Cain, who proclaimed the 75-acre project the future gateway to Cleburne, said the deal can’t happen without voter approval of a half-cent economic development sales tax to generate the city’s $25 million share in a public-private partnership.

“We will not be raising property taxes to pay for this,” Cain vowed to an audience of about 200 people. He spoke from a stage filled with more than a dozen city officials, developers, architects and other project partners.

The development is projected to create more than 1,000 jobs and generate $87 million to $100 million annually in economic benefit for the area. It was declared the city’s largest economic development project in at least a decade.

Names being considered for the project include Cleburne Depot and Cleburne Station, homages to the city’s railroad history, although public suggestions will be considered.

“It sounds exciting,” Cleburne resident Cheri White said as she served hot dogs and lemonade just before the unveiling. “I would hope that it brings more shopping and family entertainment, something more for families to do.”

“It would have been very nice to have something like this when my children were younger,” said White, who has two grown children.

The development would have 347,000 square feet of retail space for “big-box and small-box stores,” with pad sites for six restaurants and two hotels, officials said.

But the centerpiece appears to be a proposed multiuse sports facility that would bring minor-league baseball to Cleburne for the first time since the Cleburne Railroaders won the pennant in 1906. The sports center would have “88 different uses throughout the year,” including other sports, charity and corporate events, and miniature golf.

The stadium would have 2,500 permanent seats and grassy areas for another 2,500 fans. It could be expanded in the future, doubling both permanent and temporary seating, according to the plans.

Cain left little doubt about his confidence that the city will attract a baseball team — and quickly.

“The short answer is ‘Yes,’” he responded to an audience member’s query. “This isn’t, ‘If you build it, they might come.’ This is a done deal.”

The entire development, once completed, would have a value of at least $100 million. It would add $62 million to $68 million to the city’s tax base, Cain said, citing the economic study.

It would benefit significantly from the $1.4 billion Chisholm Trail Parkway, a 28-mile toll road that opened last year and connects Cleburne to downtown Fort Worth.

The city’s economic analysis said the development would draw patrons from a 25-mile radius, an area with a population of 690,000.

“It will be a regional draw,” Cain said. “Come spend your money here and enjoy our community, and then go home and leave your money behind for Cleburne to enjoy.”

The linchpin is a Nov. 3 election in which voters would have to approve three ballot issues for the project to proceed. One would create an economic development corporation board, which would sell bonds to provide upfront funding for the project and would use sales tax revenue to pay down the debt.

Once the ballot language is finalized, Cain said, it will be made public.

Approval would boost the city’s sales tax rate to the maximum 8.25 percent.

“I think the best part about this,” said Rep. DeWayne Burns, whose House District 58 encompasses Johnson and Bosque counties, “is that this is going to be up to the citizens to decide if we do it or not.”

The city already uses a recreation-oriented half-cent sales tax that has helped build the Splash Station water park and other park and athletic fields.

Cain said that if the election succeeds, the city would have funding available by late January or early February. The contract on the 75 acres is valid through mid-February, he said.

Private developers would build the retail portion and pay for 50 of the acres. The city’s funding is for buying 25 acres and building the stadium and its parking lots.

The plans call for the stadium to be complete in spring 2017.

Dallas Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson, a partner of retail developer Matthews Southwest, echoed Cain’s certainty about the development.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Nelson said. “It’s going to take the community getting behind us. But I believe you’ve got all the components here now to do something historic.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Cleburne’s ‘future gateway’: Minor-league stadium with nearby shopping, hotels."