Spirit of compromise in Lynn

LYNN – The City of Lynn has agreed to pay the North Shore Spirit nearly $75,000 for the seats the team purchased and installed in Fraser Field in 2003, prior to its first year there.A source within City Hall confirmed last night that the city paid $74,660 to purchase both the flip-up box seats and the 142 fixed seats, toward the back end of the grandstands behind home plate.The Spirit paid $200 per seat back in 2003, and sold them back to Lynn at $60 per seat for the 1,197 flip-up boxes; and $20 per seat for the fixed seats. In all, there were 1,339 seats involved.The liquidation of features added to Fraser by owner Nick Lopardo, with almost $5 million of his own money, was a source of speculation and controversy last month after the team announced it was leaving Lynn.The five-year lease the team signed in 2002 reportedly gave Lopardo the right to take back any of the features he and the team added to the park to improve it and bring it up to minor-league baseball standards. That would include the seats, an artificial surface infield, a scoreboard, concession stands, improved comfort stations, a playground, and three modular units – two used for locker rooms for the home and visiting teams; and one for the club’s administrative offices.Reportedly, Lopardo has bequested those units to his alma mater, Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. Lopardo is in that college’s Hall of Fame. One of the modulars was removed last weekend, and the other two are due to be taken off the property.The video scoreboard has also been removed.At issue still is the artificial turf Lopardo put down. The turf covers only the infield, with real grass in the outfield. According to the source, it is the city’s understanding that the turf will stay, but until the lease officially expires at the end of the month, the source did not want to discuss it any further.Attorney Michael J. Barry, who, as city solicitor, is representing Lynn in the liquidation, could not be reached for comment.In August 2006, Lopardo became chairman of the board of Myriad Entertainment and Resorts in Tunica County, Mississippi.The Spirit played five seasons in Lynn, and on the field they enjoyed tremendous success. In three of their five summers at Fraser, the team played for championship of the two leagues of which they were part: The Northeast League in 2003 and 2004; and the CanAm League last month.Lopardo also worked hard to tap into the city’s rich baseball legacy, retiring the numbers of Harry Agganis and Tony Conigliaro – as well as former Red Sox relief pitcher Dick Radatz, who was the Spirit’s pitching coach for three seasons.After drawing 90,000 in their first season, the Spirit’s attendance improved steadily each season. But in the end, Lopardo said that the increases did not make up for the losses he incurred financially.