Kelly Automotive Park likely will need more than the national pastime to survive.

The city of Butler Parks, Recreation Grounds and Facilities Authority is looking for additional ways to raise money through the ballfield as it sits nearly $243,000 in debt.

More than $27,000 of that debt is to Dollar Bank, which leads a group of five banks holding the mortgage on the 80-year-old park.

The authority earns most of its revenue through baseball events, including from its signature tenant, the Butler BlueSox — a Prospect League team composed of college players.

Ed Codi, chairman of the authority board, said the authority needs more than just baseball to pay its bills, and bringing in outside events is easier said than done.

“We need to bring in other events, but we can’t stick our necks out financially,” Codi said. “It would be irresponsible to do it.”

The authority tried to host three events last year at the stadium. Two of the events — a Butler County Symphony concert and a 5K race — fell through, while an “oldies” concert lost significant money.

“We lost more than $20,000 on it,” Codi said of the show. “It didn’t pan out. I don’t know why. We had good weather, but the crowd was just disappointing.”

The authority is no longer putting on events at the facility, Codi said. Instead, it will rent the facility to any interested promoters.

Codi said the park comes with a $2,500 up front rental fee for large events, such as a concert or a boxing match.

The renter would be responsible for setting up the stage and security. The authority would earn money on concessions, while the promoter would keep ticket sales.

But the open stadium is an inherent risk for anyone interested in renting it.

“Anytime you have an outdoor event, you have the possibility of rain,” Codi said. “A lot of people don’t want to take that risk.”

Weather concerns have always been an issue with the park, said Perry O’Malley, the former executive director with the city redevelopment authority.

O’Malley led the park’s renovation efforts while he was with the redevelopment authority.

“As a promoter, how much money can you risk securing the venue?” O’Malley said.

Another problem with the park is actually the fine quality of the field, O’Malley said.

Setting up other events while not damaging the turf is a difficult task.

“We invested more than $300,000 into the field,” O’Malley said. “The field itself is Major League quality. So, you can’t have trucks driving over it.”

It also prevents other sports, such as football, soccer, or lacrosse, from using the field.

It makes for difficult restrictions for a board trying to attract events.

“Whenever you manage a facility, you want something in it everyday,” O’Malley said. “That’s always the goal.”

Codi said softball may be an opportunity to bring in additional revenue to the stadium. He said the board is exploring opportunities to host different softball tournaments.

But softball doesn’t deviate too far from baseball, and wouldn’t cut into the months the park is not in use.

Board member Jeff Smith, who was appointed to the authority in April, said the authority needs to increase revenue before any future events can be scheduled.

“In the short term we need to find a way to increase revenue,” Smith said, adding possible ideas could be having concession vendors walk the stand of games, or having premium parking available.

But the long-term success of the stadium will depend on finding more events.

“The best answer to that is non-baseball events,” Smith said. “I believe what (Codi) is trying to do now is a good thing.” The park sits virtually empty from mid-October to March. While the crowds disappear, the expenses do not.

The brunt of the authority’s expenses is tied up in its mortgage on the park.

The authority owes Dollar Bank more than $9,100 per month, totaling about $109,000 per year.

Last year, utilities for the park totaled about $21,000, as did insurance.

Running the concession stand took $45,000, while salaries and wages for staff were nearly $50,000.

In total, the authority spent more than $380,000 last year, about $100,000 more than its planned budget and $46,000 more than its gross income.

Much of the excess came as a result of a failed deal that would have sold the authority’s 40 percent share of the Butler BlueSox to the Nonprofit Development Corporation of Butler for $40,000. That money would have been used to pay mortgage payments.

The loss in income last year hindered the board’s ability to make payments on its debts.

In addition to its mortgage payments, the board owes $27,000 to the Housing Authority of the County of Butler, $21,000 to solicitor Leo Stepanian II, $20,000 to the marketing firm Quest Fore, and about $7,500 for management and financial services.

The board also owes nearly $140,000 to the city redevelopment authority for services dating back to when the park reopened.

The redevelopment authority, which also is battling to pay for its $250,000 mortgage on the Penn Theater, is ultimately responsible for the mortgage on the ballpark, which was renovated in 2007 after being closed for three years.

About half of the more than $5 million renovation project, aimed to revitalize the West End, was paid for with a state grant. Most of the rest was paid through a mortgage by the redevelopment authority.

Art Cordwell, the executive director of the redevelopment authority, did not respond to messages this week for comment. Cordwell is also the vice chairman of the facilities authority board.

While the authority is struggling, Smith said he believes there is promise in the park.

“I think it is a great asset for all of Butler County,” he said. “I like to think it can be successful.”

Other facilities board members include Nick Ban, Jack Cohen, Leonard Pintell and David Schmidt.