JACKSON, Tenn. ─ A long-running dispute between the City of Jackson and the Jackson Baseball Club LLC – doing business as the Jackson Generals – has officially ended.
Management of the Generals declined comment, but the organization was busy removing items that belonged to the club on its final day at The Ballpark of Jackson, Wednesday.
An Arbitrator presided over the dispute between the City of Jackson and the Jackson Baseball Club.
In a 22-page Award issued November 8, 2021, the Arbitrator found the Generals breached their agreement with the City for use of The Ballpark and Stadium at Jackson and that the City therefore was within its rights in terminating that agreement in May this year.
In 1998, the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx began play at then- Pringles Park as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
The Jaxx – who would become the Jackson Generals – became the affiliate of the Seattle Mariners 10 years later, and in 2017 the Arizona Diamondbacks called Jackson home for four years.
The Generals’ agreement with the City for use of the City’s Stadium required the team to remain a Single-A, Double-A, or Triple-A team playing within the Minor League Baseball system.
In late 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) chose not to invite the Generals to continue to be part of that system. With the 2021 baseball season about to begin this May, the Generals had no MLB-affiliation, no players, and no schedule. The City declared the Generals in default and terminated the agreement.
The Generals filed for arbitration to contest the termination. The Generals argued the agreement did not require them to be affiliated with a MLB team. The Arbitrator held a two-day evidentiary hearing that included Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and Generals co-owner David Freeman among five witnesses.
In his Award, the Arbitrator rejected the Generals’ position, finding that the requirement that the Generals continue to be affiliated with an MLB team “is singularly woven into the contract” and that the Generals breached that requirement. The Award gives the City full possession of the Stadium and directs the Generals to remove any property they still have in the Stadium within 30 days.
(PHOTO: An officer with the Jackson Police Department at The Ballpark at Jackson, Wednesday)
