The Arkansas Travelers announced Monday night that the club’s ownership group, Diamond Baseball Holdings, had signed a 20-year lease agreement with the city of North Little Rock that will keep the team at Dickey-Stephens Park through the 2046 season.
“Today marks an incredibly important moment in the Travelers’ long history in central Arkansas,” said Sophie Ozier, general manager of the Travelers. “Our organization has been part of this community for 125 years, and an agreement of this significance gives us the opportunity to build on that history in a meaningful way. Alongside our ownership, Diamond Baseball Holdings, we’re grateful to the city of North Little Rock for working with us to secure a long-term future here and excited to keep Dickey-Stephens Park at the center of our community for generations to come.”
Founded in 1901, the Travs are one of the longest-running franchises in Minor League Baseball. The club has been the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners since 2017 and has played its home games at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock since the ballpark opened in 2007.
Issues with sinkholes in the outfield led to a dispute between the city and club over which side was responsible for the cost of repairs.
Recent investments at Dickey-Stephens include a new LED video board, LED lighting and an indoor batting cage.
“This agreement is a commitment to the Travelers, to North Little Rock and to the generations of fans who have made this franchise such an important part of central Arkansas,” said Pat Battle and Peter Freund, executive chairman and CEO of Diamond Baseball Holdings, respectively, in a joint statement. “When we acquired the Travelers, we were entrusted with one of the great traditions in Minor League Baseball, and we knew that honoring that tradition meant investing in its future. We are grateful to the city of North Little Rock for its partnership and look forward to building an even stronger future together for the Travelers and the entire community.”
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