LeLacheur Park is about to officially become property of UMass Lowell.

The City of Lowell and UML finally put pen to paper today, signing off on the sales agreement reached last summer and unanimously approved by the Lowell City Council July 26, 2022. The sale was expected to close yesterday, but some last minute dotting of “i’s” and crossing of “t’s” pushed that back to today.

The paperwork is now headed to Land Court, where it’s expected to be signed off on next week.

As part of the deal, the city will receive $1-million dollars for the transfer.  That money has already been wired into an escrow account.

In addition to the sales price, the city is getting out from under what has been estimated as $4-$6 million in deferred maintenance.

The ballpark is currently home to the UMass Lowell River Hawks Division 1 Baseball squad, and formerly hosted the Lowell Spinners, a Boston Red Sox NY-Penn League affiliate from 1998 until they were disbanded as part of professional baseball’s minor league realignment at the end of the 2020 season.

The University is expected to invest at least $3-million dollars to upgrade the ballpark to Division 1 standards. That number could rise significantly if UMass President Marty Meehan and city officials are successful in luring a higher level Red Sox minor league affiliate back to the Mill City.