After saying baseball’s Modesto Nuts are leaving, Modesto to talk with Mariners

Are the Modesto Nuts staying?

The city and the minor league baseball team are not saying, but the City Council met Tuesday regarding John Thurman Field lease negotiations between Modesto and the Seattle Mariners, which own the Nuts .

It’s not clear who initiated the discussions and how far they have progressed. But this comes a month after Modesto and the Mariners announced this would be the Nuts’ final season at city-owned Thurman Field after they could not come to terms on a long-term lease extension.

The council met in closed session to discuss property negotiations, under the provisions of the Brown Act, the state law that governs how local governmental bodies conduct the public’s business .

Modesto spokeswoman Sonya Severo said in an email that because this was a closed-session matter, she would have no comment at this time and would not confirm whether the talks were about keeping the Nuts at John Thurman.

Nuts General Manager Veronica Hernandez said in an email, “At this time, I am not in a position to comment.” But The Bee’s media attorney said the Brown Act does not prevent the city from commenting.

“The city is free to say, at least in general terms, whether efforts are underway to negotiate an agreement that allows the Nuts to stay at John Thurman Field ...,” wrote Aaron Field, a partner at San Francisco-based Cannata, O’Toole, & Olson LLP, in an email.

Council can hold talks in public

Field also wrote that the Brown Act does not require elected officials to meet in closed session to discuss property negotiations. He wrote that the act states “the city ‘may’ hold a closed session to handle lease negotiations, not that it ‘must’ do so.”

The council would approve any potential agreement to keep the Nuts here beyond this season at a public meeting.

There has been widespread community interest — and dismay — since Modesto and the Mariners announced this would be the Nuts’ final season. The team plays in the Low-A California League . There has been minor league baseball in Modesto since 1946.

The city’s July 10 news release provided no reason for the split other than the city and Mariners could not come to terms on a lease extension. The Nuts’ final regular-season home game is Sept. 8 and the lease expires Sept. 30.

But the deal-breaker was who would pay for Major League Baseball-mandated improvements to John Thurman Field, which opened in 1955. The cost was $32 million, according to a city memo, which cited as its source a study commissioned by the Mariners.

The city was disappointed that a new agreement could not be reached and valued the Nuts’ contributions, but that Modesto had “negotiated in the best interest of our community and being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers,” according to the memo, which was sent to City Council members.

Better stadium lighting

MLB took over the minor leagues in February 2021 and has taken such long-overdue steps to improve the players’ experience as increasing pay, reducing travel and mandating facility improvements.

The improvements focus on the players and include larger clubhouses for home and visiting teams, better training facilities, brighter stadium lighting, separate facilities for women and separate food preparation and dining areas. Modesto said it was interested in investing in improving the fans’ experience, according to the memo.

The publication Baseball America reported in May 2022 that Major League Baseball could take away the licenses of minor league teams that don’t comply with the new facility standards and send the teams to other cities. The publication reported that teams are expected to be fully compliant by 2025.

Baseball America reported in July there were concerns “that some minor league teams, especially on the West Coast, are unlikely to get the necessary upgrades to meet those standards. Modesto seems to be the first team to make that official.”

Modesto’s baseball history includes minor league teams affiliated with the Oakland A’s, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rookies. Seven future Hall of Famers have played in Modesto , including Joe Morgan, Reggie Jackson and Rickey Henderson.