PORTLAND, Maine — The Portland Sea Dogs' offseason is heating up a little bit earlier than usual.
All Minor League Baseball teams must complete mandated stadium renovations before 2025 or risk losing their MiLB affiliation if they don't comply, so the Boston Red Sox Double-A affiliate is exploring several funding options.
The facility upgrade requirements were announced in 2021 when Major League Baseball began governing the 120 minor league teams across the country. That move also came with cutting dozens of teams but providing an increase in pay for all minor league players.
Sea Dogs President Geoff Iacuessa said Wednesday that the team has already completed most of the mandatory upgrades, such as installing new field lights, expanding safety netting, adding wall-padding for player safety, and dugout improvements.
The next project, which is still in its early stages, will improve the stadium's clubhouses. The proposed plan would task the team with taking down the left field bleachers, the seats closest to the "Maine Monster," and build a new clubhouse.
In recent years, opposing teams have used space in the Portland Expo during games against the Sea Dogs. When the proposed renovations are complete, the visiting teams will use the Sea Dogs' existing clubhouse.
“There’s always been standards, and we’ve always met them. The standards, like in any industry, have just evolved over time, and this is one of those evolutions," Iacuessa said. "It’s going to be a process that we’re working through right now, but I’m optimistic that it’s going to work out and we’re going to be good.”
The question still to be answered is, who will pay for the needed upgrades?
Iacuessa said he and other team officials have been working with Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat, and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development to draft a tax credit bill.
According to Jackson's office, the details are still being worked out, but Jackson's goal would be for this tax credit to include similar provisions utilized by companies such as IDEXX and Bath Iron Works.
"These provisions include key benchmarks to support good-paying jobs, capital investments and a commitment to remain in Maine," a spokesperson for Jackson said in a statement.
The city of Portland is also involved in this effort, as the Sea Dogs lease Hadlock Field.
"We have been engaged with Sea Dogs and their ownership group regarding the need for facility improvements," a spokesperson for the city said in a statement. "We are currently working on creative ways for them to obtain funding and strengthen their lease. The city has a longstanding relationship with the Sea Dogs and would like Portland to remain their home for years to come."
The team is owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings, a private group that now owns 29 minor league teams across the country. Most recently, the group bought the Worcester Red Sox, Boston's Triple-A affiliate.
Iacuessa said he's optimistic that the new clubhouse funding could come from a combination of those public and private funding initiatives. Again, he said a final cost for the project will be finalized in the next few months.
The MLB mandates could raise a lot of questions about the future of minor league teams staying in their cities, but Iacuessa said the Sea Dogs are "not going anywhere" and the team is committed to staying in Maine.
Portland is considered a "small sports market," but Iacuessa said the team provides a big impact to the local economy while providing full- and part-time jobs every year.
The Sea Dogs finished the 2023 season with the third-highest fan attendance at the Double-A level and finished in the top-20 of attendance in all of the minor leagues, according to the team.