SIOUX CITY -- With the Sioux City Explorers home opener just two days away, a dispute between the city and the independent professional baseball team over the stadium seating appears to remain unresolved.
Last month, Explorers owner John Roost told The Journal the team might not play in the city-owned Lewis & Clark Park this season if the city didn't replace all 3,070 box and general admission seats. Roost said the deteriorating condition of the plastic seats presents a danger to fans and a financial liability for the team and city.
City Manager Bob Padmore said during a City Council meeting on May 2 that it is "unrealistic" to think that the city can replace all of the plastic seats before the first home game Tuesday.
City officials also have told Roost they don't have sufficient funds to replace all of the seats this year, but have offered to do so in phases over several years. The city has budgeted about $150,000 for the fiscal year that starts July 1 and ordered 850 seats, which the city won't arrive until August due to supply chain issues.
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Messages left by a Journal reporter for City Manager Bob Padmore, Sioux City Parks and Recreation Director Matt Salvatore and Boyd Pitkin, director of baseball and stadium operations for the Explorers, were not immediately returned Friday. Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott said Friday that he "doesn't know anything" about where things currently stand.
As The Journal first reported on April 14, Roost sent a letter to Scott and the four City Council members in which he again asked the city to replace all of the parks plastic seats, which he described as being in "serious and poor condition."
During a follow-up interview on May 2, Roost told The Journal by phone that the seat problem is "not a new problem" and dates back to when Paul Eckert was the city manager. Roost said he has been personally involved with extricating fans from failed seats at the stadium.
"If the city does not indemnify the Sioux City Explorers, John Roost personally and the Sioux City Explorers Professional Baseball Club LLC, of South Dakota, the Sioux City Explorers will not play in Lewis & Clark Park this year," Roost said during that interview.
For the home opener Tuesday against the Lake Country DockHounds, the X's are offering a buy-one-get-one free ticket promotion, according to a press release on the team's website. Fans also will be treated to a fireworks display by Lantis Fireworks after the game. Tickets can be purchased at xsbaseball.com, by calling 712-277-9467, or at the box office, 3400 Line Drive.
The 2022 opener, which starts at 7:05 p.m., marks the start of the X's 30th season at Lewis & Clark Park. To celebrate that milestone, the press release said the team during the season will be "bringing back some familiar names and faces from the past that fans are sure to recognize."
"These people made a huge impact during the 30 years that the X's have been around," the press release said.