Twins baseball is here to stay in Elizabethton.

During Thursday’s meeting, the Elizabethton City Council unanimously approved principles of agreement between the city and the Minnesota Twins with the agreement saying that Elizabethton will pay $1, 521,310 towards renovations at Joe O’Brien Field. Those renovations will include a new clubhouse for the Elizabethton Twins, new backstop padding, and conversion of the existing clubhouse to be used by visiting teams. The changes at the Joe O’Brien will have a full estimated cost of $2,322,1100 with Minnesota willing to provide $800,800 towards the project.

Twins President and Chief Executive Officer Dave St. Peter was present during Thursday’s City Council Meeting.

“Twins Territory in my mind also includes the town of Elizabethton,” St. Peter said to the council. “We have been here for four-plus decades and have built a wonderful tradition. A tradition filled with great history.”

Thursday’s vote brings to an end talks between Minnesota and Elizabethton as to how renovations at Joe O’Brien would be paid for and the future of the Twins and the city. Those talks have spanned over the last few years.

“It is really a great day for Elizabethton,” said City Mayor Curt Alexander. “This is a project that we have been working on for well over two years. There have been multiple conversations, trips to Minnesota, Minnesota traveling down here, and partnering with the Twins to make this happen. Their financial commitment is what allowed this to move forward.”

Also during Thursday’s meeting, the city council approved on the first reading a change to the 2018-19 fiscal year budget that will pull $1,016,026 from the police building fund, along with $962,422 from three other funds. For this to be fully approved, the council with have to vote on the budget amendment again during their next meeting.

The agreement also leaves open the possibility of a third party, such as Boyd Sports which manages the Johnson City Cardinals and the Greeneville Astros, to take over management of the Elizabethton Twins. The team is currently managed by the Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Department.

Construction at Joe O’Brien Field is set to begin in the next two weeks and is expected to be finished by May 15, 2019, in time for the Twins 2019 baseball season. Burleson Construction out of Johnson City has been commissioned to complete the renovations at Joe O’Brien.