In late August, when the Mobile City Council and Mayor Sam Jones first toured the $2.5-million addition to Ladd-Peebles Stadium, including 11 new skyboxes, District 6 Councilwoman Connie Hudson said she was surprised to hear the city council would have a suite separate from the mayor’s, which is located just between the 40- and 50-yard lines.

“It was announced to me on the day we toured,” Hudson said. “We’ve always shared, like we do with the Baybears.”

The 11 new skyboxes bring the total at city-owned Ladd-Peebles Stadium up to 14, as three were built in 1997 in part of the press box addition. In addition to the two skyboxes available to the city, the Mobile County Commission also has a suite, which brings the total of skyboxes for local government use to three, or 21 percent of the skyboxes in the 61-year-old stadium.

Speaking generally, and taking into consideration the differences between facilities in other cities, Bud Ratliff of the Mobile Bay Sports Authority says most stadiums have only two skyboxes reserved for city and county use, but doesn’t see a problem with the current arrangement at Ladd-Peebles.

And, although the additions to Ladd are still in their infancy, Ratliff says the potential for economic development is great with a suite to, “showcase other parts of the city to visitors, like, in this instance, our strong sporting events,” to prospective business executives and the like. Ratliff also noted, the value of being able to entertain people you want to do business with is “a really big plus for the city of Mobile.”

How the Skyboxes can benefit the city

Where there’s development, there’s usually debt, and that is the case at Ladd-Peebles. If debts aren’t ultimately made up in long- or short-term economic development efforts, however, the city has the opportunity to pay off its $2.5 million investment with skybox rentals, parking fees and other services. The smaller skyboxes, which seat roughly 15 people each, rent for $10,000 per season, while an eleventh flex box seats about 34 people and is rented on a per-event basis at a rate of $2,500. Once the smaller skyboxes are purchased, tickets for individual events must be purchased form the event organizer by the skybox’s owner or ownership group in order to attend a game, according to Paul Christopher, the Ladd-Peebles stadium manager. Parking, in the case of South Alabama, will earn the city $10,000 per game or $70,000 for the current season. The city also has the right to control concessions.

As the arrangement exists, the skyboxes reserved for the mayor and county commission are valued at $20,000, but the flex box-sized suite used by the city council is valued at $25,000 if rentals for all seven South Alabama games, the Gulf Coast Classic, Senior Bowl and GMAC Bowl are fulfilled. The remaining seven skyboxes are valued at $95,000, including the stadium’s second flex box, over the course of a season.

“And a large portion of that goes towards operational expenses,” Christopher noted. The three skyboxes on the press box level are given to the respective host of an event for whatever use they see fit, he added.

City spokesperson Barbara Drummond says the ability to entertain prospective business partners is already paying off in the mayor’s skybox.

“The mayor has already had industrial recruiters coming to the games. He’s had an official from EADS and some of their suppliers,” Drummond said. “It’s a good way to expose them to Mobile and show them the quality of life in Mobile.”

Ratliff, expanding upon the previous opportunities to entertain businesspeople at Ladd-Peebles, gives much of his praise to the South Alabama Football program.

“With seven additional games we now have the opportunity to bring in other people at different times,” Ratliff said. “Before, we could offer to entertain folks over the course of three or so games, now we’ve got 10 and it can increase the opportunity to showcase our city.”

And with seemingly endless upside, there are still some in local government who think taxpayer dollars have the potential to be misspent.

County Commissioner Steve Nodine is part of the county government that funded improvements with a $600,000 contribution. But, besides an occasional and curious jaunt to the county’s skybox, you’re more likely to find Nodine in the stands, he says.

“I was at one game and I did go up to see what the taxpayers paid for. I did not see one new prospect,” Nodine said. “I saw former mayor Mike Dow, Chamber (of Commerce) cronies. Didn’t see anybody I didn’t know.”

But, despite what he’s seen, Nodine says he’s got definite plans for his tickets and it seems a little more laissez faire than the city’s plan.

“I’ve been giving my tickets to people who recruit. That’s what I’ve been doing since I got the tickets. I don’t think I have any left, so I won’t be able to go to the skybox,” said Nodine. “But, you know, if we have a client in there — say for instance if we want to help the tanker — if we invite other commissioners that have been helping us throughout the Gulf Coast, obviously that’s what I plan on utilizing the tickets for.” Nodine says the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars could come from skybox consolidation.

“I would suggest that no politician use a skybox at all. Though, I will make it clear that I have for Senior Bowl and all. You go up there and grab something to eat and say hello to everybody,” Nodine said. “But I’d rather be in the stands. There’s millions of dollars in taxpayer money involved. It should be open to the public. I did sit near the student section during the Army Prep game and the South kids had some chant (with expletives) that wasn’t great for my 13-year-old, so we like to move around.”

As legal council for the mayor, Larry Wettermark provided Jones an explanation for his legal and ethical use of the skybox — since it qualifies as a “thing of value” — at athletic venues like Ladd-Peebles in a letter dated Sept. 4, 2009. Drummond calls the arrangement “standard across the county.”

The letter states Jones’ use of the skybox is ethically permissible if he is using his suite to promote the best interests of the city of Mobile. It further explains, Jones will be at games, “ as the administrative head of the city and be available to meet and greet, on behalf of the city, dignitaries and other persons who can be important to the economic improvement of the city.

Senior Bowl Sensitivity

This past spring, after the public had become well aware of the game’s board shopping the event around Florida, the Senior Bowl’s leadership submitted a request to the Ladd-Peebles Stadium Board. That proposal included terms that aimed to effectively give the Senior Bowl the rights to the city-controlled skyboxes in addition to the skyboxes already made available to them on the press box level.

When asked for a statement from the city regarding their willingness to hand over the skyboxes as requested, Drummond said the protocol would involve the board of the city-owned stadium paying Senior Bowl the difference in lost seat revenue to the tune of anywhere from $18,000 to $21,000.

Earlier this week MASA officials and the Ladd-Peebles Stadium Board announced an agreement was being reached to keep Senior Bowl in Mobile through at least 2010. No official announcement had been made at press time.

Senior Bowl officials were not available to comment on the details of the new agreement or whether the skybox issue had been addressed in negotiations for the 2010 game at deadline. Officials also could not comment as to whether control of the skyboxes will be a point of contention when it comes time to sign a contract beyond the already-agreed terms.