Wild Things ownership takes Trinity to court over stadium rent dispute
The ownership of the Washington Wild Things’ minor league baseball stadium has taken Trinity Area School District to court in a breach-of-contract suit filed Wednesday in Washington County Court.
Upper St. Clair-based Washington County Family Entertainment LLC, the plaintiff in the suit, identifies itself as the master tenant of Consol Energy Park, which seats 3,200, and surroundings at 1 Federal Way, North Franklin Township.
Trinity maintains it paid approximately $4,600 a game for each game its scholastic team played at the stadium when other high school teams were charged only about $500 per game. Stu Williams, majority owner of the independent Frontier League Wild Things, disputed that figure in an Observer-Reporter news story published last summer.
Family Entertainment and Trinity entered into a five-year rental agreement in March 2012 that would be equal to the tax levy of the ballpark and surrounding land, along with additional charges enumerated in a facilities use agreement.
In April, Dr. Michael Lucas, Trinity superintendent, sent a letter to Family Entertainment notifying the corporation that it would not be renewing the agreement to use the ballpark once it expired March 30, 2017.
In September, Family Entertainment received Trinity’s real estate tax bills totaling $66,934, which are due by next Thursday.
Family Entertainment, through the lessor for the facility, invoiced Trinity $66,934 in October, but the school district drector of fiscal services replied that Trinity would not be paying its annual rent for 2016 or the pro-rated share of rent through March 2017.
“Despite repeated demands from (Family Entertainment), Trinity without privilege or justification” will be repudiating its obligations, the corporation maintained in the suit.
Family Entertainment claims Trinity is unlawfully refusing to meet its obligation to fulfill the facilities use agreement and that the property could be liened, causing irreparable harm to the corporation in excess of the $66,934 invoice. It asked for a court order requiring Trinity to pay rent due through March 30, 2017, plus interest and court costs.
A call Thursday afternoon to Lucas was not immediately returned.
David Roussos, Trinity’s director of fiscal services, previously told the Observer-Reporter, “These were contracts for the rental of the fields, and (The Wild Things) received payments that the district has determined would be fiscally irresponsible to continue with. It cannot be justified.”
Williams, in the August news story, said the team’s ownership was aware of Trinity’s financial situation and that it offered to pay a portion of the taxes, but Trinity declined to negotiate.