City of Bryan, Brazos Valley Bombers make cases ahead of special council meeting

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – A special city council meeting on Thursday may put an end to a nearly two decade-long relationship between the City of Bryan and the Brazos Valley Bombers.

The Bryan City Council will be voting on whether to terminate its agreement with Infinity Sports Entertainment, the Bombers’s parent company, a year early.

The current agreement between the city and Infinity Sports Entertainment started in 2006. In it, the city agreed to cover rent and utility costs, granting Infinity exclusive use of the field while they pay for maintenance and improvements.

The city invested nearly $2 million in 2017 to help make improvements, and Infinity makes yearly payments that help offset that cost.

Bombers co-owner, Uri Geva reached out to the city in April to begin renewal conversations, but the city laid out terms with which Infinity wasn’t willing to move forward. The city responded in early July with a notice of termination to be voted on at a special city council meeting set for Thursday, July 18.

According to a statement released by the city, it wants to see Edible Field used to its ‘utmost potential.’

Geva said the Bombers bring enough value, and any changes to the agreement should come after it ends in 2025.

”This is not an argument, this is not a debate, this is something that’s good for everybody. Let’s figure out how to do that, and let’s just honor the current lease and move on,” Geva insisted.

Ahead of the special meeting, the City of Bryan and the Brazos Valley Bombers have each laid out its case.

As the community takes in each side’s stance, fans prepare to make their voices heard by city leaders.

“I hope we can turn their minds around and hope that we can keep this park and the Bryan Bombers can still continue to play,” said Bombers fan James Hicks.

The statement shared by the City of Bryan said it wants to see the field utilized in a way that maximizes its value for the public, and for taxpayers.

But, Geva said he believes the Bombers’ value to the community is about more than just dollars and cents, “It’s always been about the community. It has always been about the memories of a lifetime that are worth repeating and not about the dollars.”

In hopes of some mutual agreement, Geva said he’s open to negotiating with the city on new terms, but wants to have those conversations when the current agreement is set to end instead of seeing it possibly terminated early.

The city would like to see the team’s ownership take on more of the costs, such as rent and utilities during the 3-month season, but would also like to explore other options for future use of the field.

At Thursday’s meeting, the city will receive more information about its options, and decide what action, if any, to take next.

Both sides have presented conflicting documents and data regarding Infinity Sports Entertainment’s financial impact to the city.

Attached below is data provided by the City of Bryan regarding the Hotel Occupancy Tax report Infinity Sports is required to submit. According to city officials, it uses the Event Impact Calculator to calculate the impact numbers shared in its statement.

FY23 HOT Funds Report Bombe… by KBTX

This is an ongoing and developing story. Stay with KBTX for further details as they are made available.