You’re outta there! Fans fume after popular baseball team ejected from Mooresville stadium
Fans are fuming after the co-owner of the longtime Mooresville Spinners collegiate league baseball team said the town barred it from playing in Mooresville’s multimillion dollar baseball stadium when it opens next year.
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“We’ve been pushed aside,” team co-owner and general manager Phillip Loftin told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.
Despite the team’s 11-year history at Moor Park on South Broad Street, town officials never told him they were taking bids from leagues to field a team in the stadium, Loftin said.
“Two weeks after the bidding began, I found out from a buddy,” he said.
Loftin, who lives in the Lake Norman area, said the Spinners have a long-term lease with the town that expires after the 2028 summer baseball season.
About two years ago, a newly-elected town board wanted him to sign a “renter’s agreement” because, he said he was told, the town doesn’t lease town-owned properties. With his lease in place, he said, he declined a new agreement.
Loftin said his recent emails and calls to town officials have gone unreturned. He said he tried to arrange a meeting with Mayor Chris Carney but also never received a reply. He said the dispute may end up with lawyers.
Meanwhile, the team’s possibly final season in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League ticks by faster than Major League Baseball’s pitch clock.
The team’s final home game of the season, at Mooresville High School Stadium, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, July 18, against the Troutman Dawgs. The evening is billed as Ladies Night, with free admission to women. The team has played there the past couple of seasons during the Moor Park renovations.
The team alerted fans to its fate on social media Sunday.
The decision by the town “doesn’t just affect our organization — it affects our players, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, local businesses, and the families who have supported us year after year,” according to the team’s post.
“Countless hours of volunteer work, community partnerships, and memories have been invested in making the Spinners a positive part of Mooresville,” team officials said.
Asked by the Observer to respond to Loftin’s claims, town spokesperson Michael Rudd laid the issue on the Spinners. He said he didn’t know why the team didn’t participate in the town’s recent request for proposals from organizations interested in playing at Moor Park.
In an email, Rudd said the town is aware of what the Spinners have shared with the public.
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“While the Town of Mooresville disputes several of the claims that have been made, the Town appreciates and celebrates the Mooresville Spinners and its role in the community in helping to bring baseball back to Mooresville,” Rudd said.
“Though we cannot speak to why the Spinners did not participate in the public RFP process, we do look forward to having baseball games back at Moor Park, as well as a wide variety of events that will appeal to Town residents in 2027,” Rudd said.
He declined to provide more information about the RFP process or the result.
Reaction to the Spinners’ social media post was immediate. By Wednesday, the post had received more than 600 likes and 260 comments on Facebook.
“Our town leaders are supposed to support the community and its organizations, not tear them down,” said the owners of Mamma Ramona’s Pizzeria in downtown Mooresville.
Games at Moor Park were a highlight of summer, said the father of a player. “The community support for the Spinners was second to none,” he said. “This seems like a terrible decision.”
The team drew crowds of 1,000, Loftin told the Observer.
“We had loyal fans,” he said. “It’s all about community. They supported us from day one.”
In their social media post, team officials spoke as if this season is the Spinners’ last.
“To everyone who has cheered for us, volunteered, sponsored us, or simply spent a summer evening at the ballpark — thank you. You are the reason the Mooresville Spinners have meant so much to so many.
The team urged fans to attend its remaining games, “celebrate our players, and respectfully let your voices be heard. This community deserves answers, and our players deserve to finish this season knowing how much they are loved and appreciated.
“Thank you, Mooresville,” team officials wrote. “We’ll make this final season one to remember.”
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