New name, same old problems.

The future of Kelly Automotive Park is in question because the City of Butler Parks, Recreation Grounds and Facilities Authority can’t pay its bills.

The authority, which was created to manage the park for the city redevelopment authority, is nearly $243,000 in debt and is three months behind on its mortgage payments for the ballpark.

The authority owes $27,425 to Dollar Bank, which leads a group of five banks holding the mortgage on the 80-year-old park.

“We’re hanging on by the skin of our teeth,” said board chairman Ed Codi at the authority’s meeting Friday. “We’re at the mercy of the bank.”

The ballpark was renovated in 2007 after being closed for three years. Half of the $5 million project, aimed to revitalize the West End, was paid for with a state grant while the rest was through a mortgage by the city redevelopment authority.

The redevelopment authority also is in a financial battle of its own trying to pay for the Penn Theater on Main Street, which it bought in 2007 for more than $250,000.

Codi said he is not sure how much longer the stadium board will last without increasing its revenue.

“At some point the bank is going to take this over,” he said of the park.

Board treasurer Jack Cohen said the board needs to seriously discuss if it’s time to throw in the towel.

“Do we have to tell the city we have no plan to get caught up,” he asked the board, “because we have no plan to get out from under this debt.”

Board member Jeff Smith, who was appointed by city council in April to the board, said the authority is going nowhere with its debt.

“You say ‘we’re kicking the can down the road,’ but that can is getting bigger,” Smith said to Codi. “Now it’s snowballing.”

The authority tried to help its financial problems this year by entering into a naming rights agreement with Kelly Automotive. The five-year, $150,000 deal changed the name of Pullman Park to Kelly Automotive Field.

But the deal isn’t enough to cover its debt.

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

Solicitor Leo Stepanian II is owed $21,000. Stepanian, who is paid $125 per hour, said he hasn’t been paid since last fall.

The Nonprofit Development Corporation and the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources, two sister agencies, are owed a combined $5,400 for management of the park and for financial services.

The authority also has debts to the Housing Authority of the County of Butler for more than $27,000 and auditor Mark Turnley for $2,000.

Proposed BlueSox sale

To bring in some additional revenue, the board voted Friday to place its 40 percent stake of the Butler BlueSox out for bid.

The intention of the move is to have the BlueSox majority ownership group, Perfect Game LLC, buy the baseball team for $75,000.

The sale would be dependent upon the two sides signing a 10-year lease.

“We need to protect ourselves,” Codi said of the agreement.

William “Wink” Robinson, one of the majority owners of the club, said at the meeting he would take the proposal to the group’s other four owners. He thinks the deal could work.

“I’m quite confident,” he said.

Robinson said the BlueSox are “100 percent” looking for a long-term lease at Kelly Automotive Park.

“We need a place to play,” he said.

The club’s lease is up after this year.

Stepanian said a lease is something the ballclub should want.

“If the bank came in here and there’s no contract — well, I’d hate to be the BlueSox,” he said.

The solicitor said if the authority sold the BlueSox, the board could at least pay some of its bills.

Smith said it would be enough to catch up on the debts outside the city and county authorities.

The authority had a proposal in December to sell the club to the Nonprofit Development Corporation for $40,000, but the Prospect League rejected the deal.

The BlueSox is one of 11 clubs in the league.

The majority ownership group opposed the deal, claiming it had first right of refusal on any offer the board makes.

Robinson said the majority group first approached the board last September expressing interest to buy the club and would have bought it for the $40,000.

But Codi said that deal involved the nonprofit also taking over managing the ballpark and has since increased the asking price.

Codi, who was reluctant in the past to consider selling to the majority group due to his concerns that the team could relocate, said the authority has no other option.

“We’re in a dire situation,” he said.

Marketing the park

But even if the board sells its share of the club, it would only cut into part of its debt.

“This is only a Band-Aid,” Cohen said. “Why are we spending someone else’s money like this? It’s bad business.”

The consensus on the board was the ballpark needs to be used for more than just baseball games if it wants to stay afloat.

“Since Day 1 we’ve had these same issues,” Cohen said.

Smith was critical of the board’s spending habits, particularly toward marketing.

Smith said the board took a $25,000 grant from People’s TWP, which was intended to pay for its marketing service, and spent it on other debts.

“That’s a breach of contract,” he said. “They could ask for that $25,000 back.”

The money was intended to go to the marketing service Quest Fore of Pittsburgh, which has been working to develop a marketing plan for the authority for the past two years.

Smith also was skeptical of the success Quest Fore has had in developing a plan.

He made a motion to cancel the contract with Quest Fore and try to get People’s TWP to allow the authority to give the grant money to another agency.

The board agreed the Nonprofit Development Corporation, which manages the park, has better marketing ideas to bring in revenue.

The nonprofit group has already booked some small concerts and a couple weddings at the park this year.

The contract with Quest Fore will be terminated at the end of the year.

Cohen, who is the president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said his agency has hired someone devoted to bringing sports attractions to the county.

“She’s a full-time employee who can find people to come here,” he said. “Her only focus is hockey and baseball.”

The board tossed around other ideas about hosting softball leagues and games as well.

Following the meeting, Cohen said he still believes the park can be saved.

“It’s my opinion that there is potential in the park to be successful,” he said. “We just have to have the heart to make it successful.”