The Atlanta Braves brought the big guns to town Tuesday night to meet with Mayor Bill Saffo and the rest of the Wilmington City Council. 

Retired manager Bobby Cox and general manager Frank Wren attended Tuesday night’s City Council meeting in an effort to bring minor league baseball back to Wilmington. The strategy seemed to work, as Wilmington council members voted unanimously to enter into negotiations regarding a minor league stadium that would be constructed downtown in time for the 2015 season. 

Wilmington citizens, however, did not share the same unanimous opinion. Many protestors attended the meeting, carrying signs that read “No” in bold black letters as well as signs that read “Next election you are out.” The protestors’ insistence against the team was strongly opposed by baseball fans galore, who attended the meeting donning Braves gear.

The agreement with Mandalay Baseball Properties and the Atlanta Braves National League Baseball Club gives the city of Wilmington until July 31 to decide for or against adopting a professional team. If approved, the Braves single-A affiliate, now located in Lynchburg, Va., would move to Wilmington at the end of the 2014 season.

Laura Padgett and the rest of the city council members understand the importance of this opportunity, with the team looking to draw in an estimated $9.8 million annually as well as 25-35 full time jobs and around 450 seasonal jobs. The only hope is that a majority of the money needed can come from private funding and not increased taxes.

“I think we’d be foolish to have an opportunity to like this and not look into it,” said Padgett, adding, “I think it’s wrong for city taxpayers to pay an increased tax rate on their own to pay for this facility.”

Mayor Saffo and his team will have six months to seek out funding and support in order to make a final decision on the issue. “Our intent is to see what this is going to look like, what it would cost,” said Saffo. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”