Hartford city officials met with officials from the bonding company for the new minor league ballpark days after the mayor called the $47 million bond for the new ballpark.
Mayor Luke Bronin and Sean Fitzpatrick, of the Hartford Stadium Authority, sent a letter to Arch Insurance Company in Philadelphia, saying the DoNo baseball stadium developer, Centerplan Construction Company, has defaulted on its agreement with the city.
The ballpark was supposed to be “substantially complete” by May 17, but that did not happen and the latest estimates were that the park could open at the beginning of July at the earliest.
With no home park. the Hartford Yard Goats have been playing their home games at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, home of the Connecticut Tigers.
The letter from city officials accuses the developer of failing to adhere to the requirement of an agreement reached in January to pay $50,000 if they missed the deadline and an additional $15,000 per day, up to $250,000, until reaching the “substantial completion” date.
Centerplan and DoNo have pledged to fight the claim in court because they say the city has some culpability in the park being late.
The letter also says “numerous construction deficiencies and code violations” remain on the project and Centerplan threatened to walk off the jobsite and would be in serious default if it does so.
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If city leaders decide to "call the bond," it could delay the construction of the ballpark by several weeks.
The bonding company would immediately assess the stadium construction project and decide whether to replace Centerplan Construction as the general contractor or keep them on the job with oversight.
In either case, the bond is secured by the assets of the developer, DoNo Hartford, LLC and its principles.
Neither the City of Hartford nor the Yard Goats would be required to spend additional money to finish the stadium.
The decision to call the bond could delay the construction of the ballpark by several weeks.
The next step is for the bonding company to assess the stadium construction project and decide whether to replace Centerplan Construction as the general contractor or keep them on the job with oversight.
In either case, the bond is secured by the assets of the developer, DoNo Hartford, LLC and its principles.
Neither the City of Hartford nor the Yard Goats would be required to spend additional money to finish the stadium.
