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Hotel guests better bring their gloves
By MICHAEL COUSINEAU, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
May 13, 2004 - MANCHESTER -- Guests at the planned Hilton Garden Inn won't a need a ticket to catch the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in action at the riverfront ballpark next door next year.
Smart lodgers should come armed with their baseball mitts.
The brick-covered hotel, on the edge of the Millyard, will be about 35 feet from the outfield of the new stadium. A patio will stretch to the top of the left field wall. A metal railing will keep patrons from landing on the warning track.
"You can sit there sipping Margaritas under the plaza umbrellas, catching baseballs," said Rolf Biggers, the principal of BMA Architectural Group in Amherst. "We're having lots of fun with this with the ballpark."
South-facing rooms will overlook the stadium on the Merrimack River.
The architect is hoping to present conceptual plans to the city's planning board May 27, with a formal review June 10.
Construction costs are estimated at between $10 million to $11 million, with a May 2005 opening eyed, Biggers said.
The 125-room hotel, south of South Commercial Street, will have six stories -- about 66 feet high -- with a predominantly brick exterior. It will include a cupola and a tower with a working clock that will blend into the Millyard.
"It has a couple of towers that are consistent with the Millyard towers," city Planning Director Bob MacKenzie said.
The hotel will sit on 2.6 acres with an adjoining parking easement that will help provide 130-plus parking spaces.
The city has borrowed $27.5 million, which will be repaid from rent the team pays and new property taxes generated elsewhere at the riverfront site, including the hotel.
The $27.5 million will pay for a new 6,500-seat ballpark and renovations to Gill Stadium, where the team is playing this season.
The 3,000-square-foot hotel patio will be made of brick pavers and include markers letting people know how far homers traveled from home plate, Biggers said.
The hotel will include a pool, breakfast area and small lounge. An outfield spa will be in the shape of home plate, but it won't offer stadium views.
The hotel owner, Roedel Partners, and architects will manage the construction. Roedel Partners could not be reached for comment.
The main tower will contain high-end suites with plasma televisions and wet bars.
