Goats Could Stay Yardless Throughout 2016 Season

In the latest twist in what has become a seemingly intractable boondoggle, there is a very real possibility that the Hartford Yard Goats spend the entire season on the road.

DoNo Hartford LLC and Centerplate Cos., the developers of the still-unfinished Dunkin Donuts Park, failed to turn the stadium over to the city on May 17 as scheduled. As a result, the Hartford Courant reports, the Hartford Stadium Authority is moving toward putting a claim on its surety bond with the insurer.

If the claim is formalized, construction of the park would halt while an investigation into the claim is initiated. Such an investigation, the Courant reports, could take between six and nine months and would keep the team on the road for the rest of the season.

The present plan, were there to be an 11th-hour resolution, calls for the Yard Goats to play their first true home game on June 21. The rest of their season has mostly been spent playing as the home team at road parks. They’ve also spent time in Dodd Stadium, the home of the short-season Connecticut Tigers, in Norwich, Conn.

The Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees were the last club to spend an entire season on the road, but that was expected from Opening Day. The team even re-branded as the Empire State Yankees for the year.

In a statement, Yard Goats owner Josh Solomon praised the efforts of the city for its action against DoNo Hartford and Centerplate.

“We stand behind Mayor Bronin and the Stadium Authority and believe they will do everything in their power to hold the developer accountable and use the contractual agreements in place to provide the funds necessary to complete the ball park so that the team can come home to Hartford and play ball at Dunkin’ Donuts Park.

“We agree that calling the payment and performance bond is the only course of action available as the developer has shown no ability to meet the agreed upon schedules or effectively manage the project.”

After the developers missed the May 17 deadline to turn over the stadium to the city, they were assessed damages of $50,000 for the first missed day and $15,000 every day thereafter. That’s a total of $170,000 and counting. 

So far, Hartford Stadium Authority chairman Charles Mathews told the Courant, the developers have refused to pay the damages assessed.

A formal claim on the bond could be finalized as soon as Friday, all but assuring the Goats become the second team in five seasons to spend an entire year without a home stadium.