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UTICA — The United Shore Professional Baseball League has announced that it will be constructing a building next to Jimmy John’s Field that will house the league’s headquarters and a restaurant.
General Sports, which founded the USPBL, and the league have intended to develop this property for quite a while now.
“General Sports and the United Shore Professional Baseball League have always intended to develop this property. We purchased the property from the city in 2019, and we were working on partnering with third parties to develop the property for several years before deciding that it really just made more sense for us to develop the property ourselves,” said Dana Schmitt, the president of the United Shore Professional Baseball League. “We will be moving the General Sports/USPBL headquarters offices from downtown Rochester to downtown Utica to be close to the ballpark, making it much more efficient for our staff, who are working in both locations at this time.”
She said they also have decided to include two retail spaces on the front side of the building along Auburn Road, with a retail store for the USPBL and its baseball teams, which the league does not currently have at the ballpark outside of game days. The restaurant will be a gourmet hot dog restaurant named after the league’s bat dog, JJ. It will be called “JJ’s Dog House” and allow patrons and Utica residents to enjoy an adjacent covered patio space along the Clinton River and the hike and bike trail.
“In addition, the building will have a 1,500-square-foot meeting and event space on the north side of the building along with an executive board room, which will allow us to book corporate meetings and events that we lack the space to accommodate at the ballpark. We receive many requests to hold meetings and events at the ballpark, and our space there isn’t designed to accommodate more than 35 people for a meeting, so this will allow us to accommodate more meetings at the new building, which can be paired with team-building events at the ballpark, such as on-field batting practice, softball or kickball games, or attending a USPBL game,” she said.
The building also will have a 2,450-square-foot office suite that General Sports and the USPBL will be leasing to a third party tenant.
“We are excited about the possibilities the new building will present, as it will connect the historic downtown Utica to the ballpark,” she said.
Utica Mayor Gus Calandrino is pleased with the USPBL’s commitment to the city.
“We are excited about the new development and the added excitement it will bring to downtown Utica. The new restaurant, retail space, USPBL headquarters, office space and conference center will add to the activity and excitement in downtown Utica. Our existing restaurants will benefit from this new activity,” he said.
He said the planned restaurant will provide a new attraction for the many patrons of the Iron Belle Trail, which runs through Utica along the Clinton River.
“We expect this to become a popular stop for people who enjoy using the trail,” he said.
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