The Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Carolina Mudcats have signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Wilson, NC. Nothing is engraved in stone yet but with MLB’s demand of upgrading the Mudcats’facility in Zebulon, this step may be a serious one.
Since 1991, the Mudcats have been playing in Five County Stadium. Even when the AA (Southern League) club was sold in 2012 and moved to Pensacola, the Kinston Indians moved to Zebulon and adopted the Mudcats moniker.
Zebulon is a very small market. The town has only 5,712 inhabitants. With a move to Wilson, the Mudcats will jump into a much bigger market as the population of that city is 49,310. The Mudcats are owned by the parent club, the Milwaukee Brewers since 2017.
An upgrade of FIve County Stadium to meet MLB’s standards would cost the owners of the ballpark, Wake County and Zebulon, a sloppy $15MM. Currently, the ballpark is in desperate needs of upgrades. A new upgrade would include a new right-field multilevel home clubhouse, a renovation of the current home clubhouse for use by visiting teams, a new playing field and LED lighting, and a new clubhouse for women. The question is if a small community like Zebulon and Wake County can afford an amount like this.
To be continued.
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