New stadium, new name
The new stadium in Pomona now has a name: Provident Bank Park.
The bank will pay $275,000 a year for 10 years of exclusive naming rights. The agreement also designates Provident as the primary marketing partner for the Rockland Boulders, giving it the ability to promote the bank and its products to a venue Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence estimates will attract 250,000 attendees a year.
St. Lawrence thanked Provident for lending the Ramapo Development Corp. $3 million while it sought the bonding needed to pay for the project, which he said has been “paid back in full, with interest.” Â The town”™s AA credit rating allowed it to bond the $25 million construction project at 3.5 percent interest, managed by Jefferies & Co, New York City. The original cost was estimated at $16.5 million.
The purchase price for the 62-acre former apple orchard was $7.7 million, which St. Lawrence said will be paid with 30-year bonds at 3.47 percent. The stadium is on 26 acres of the property off Exit 12 on the Palisades Parkway.
The project was vigorously fought by a residents group, Preserve Ramapo, which still has two lawsuits pending, said town attorney Michael Klein. “They are moot at this point. The park is nearly completed and getting ready to open, and all the environmental issues have been mitigated. Some people think this is the wrong time to spend on a public works project … but prices are good and the time was right. We put people to work and the ballpark will be a real asset to the entire county.”
St. Lawrence said people may have thought his vision for a minor league stadium was an impossible dream, “but this project  had the support of many of the residents, especially the business community and the members of the Rockland Business Association. Provident Bank Park will be a destination and an economic engine for the county.”
If St. Lawrence gets his wish, Gov. Andrew Cuomo will be throwing out the first pitch on opening night, June 16.