Hartford Has Paid $1.8M To Subsidiary of Would-Be Dillon Stadium Developer

HARTFORD — The city has paid more than $1.8 million to a company run by a developer whose newly disclosed embezzlement conviction and financial dealings have jeopardized the proposal to bring a soccer stadium to Hartford, records show.

The payments, details of which were not available, were made to Premier Sports Management Group, a subsidiary of prospective Dillon Stadium developer Black Diamond Consulting Group.

The Courant reported Tuesday that James Duckett, the CEO of Black Diamond, has a felony conviction for embezzlement and has faced legal judgments in at least four states for failing to pay personal and professional debts.

The payments to Premier Sports Management Group go as far back as October 2014, with the most recent sent in late August.

The city previously awarded Premier Sports the contract to develop the stadium. Premier later became part of Black Diamond.

Councilman Kenneth Kennedy, a main supporter of a proposal to enter into a 49-year lease with Black Diamond for the redevelopment of Dillon Stadium, said city officials are reviewing those payments. He said he did not have details about them.

The city’s electronic checkbook describes the eight payments as being for “management services” and drawn from “capital projects” funds. The payments are attributed to the city’s public works and development services departments.

Thomas Deller, the city’s director of development services, could not be reached for comment. Neither Duckett nor Mitch Anderson, president and general manager of Hartford City FC — the soccer club slated to use the proposed stadium — could be reached for comment Thursday. Duckett is the club’s majority owner.

Council members said Wednesday that they needed to take a closer look at the project and its proposed developer before pressing ahead.

Kennedy said Thursday that changes would need to be made, including finding a new developer, for the Dillon Stadium project to move forward. But he also said that the proposal to sign a lease with Duckett’s company could be withdrawn Tuesday, during the council’s next scheduled meeting.

“James, at this point, I don’t think can be the lead on this project,” Kennedy said. “If it doesn’t change, I’m not prepared to move it forward. Real concerns have been raised about this.

“If James doesn’t make any changes, I am prepared to withdraw the resolution,” Kennedy said.

Council President Shawn Wooden said Thursday that he has asked Kennedy to withdraw the proposal.

“I am not supporting the project moving forward,” he said. “Ken is aware of the significant concerns about the project. I have asked him to withdraw his resolution.”

Under the proposal before the council, Duckett would pay $30 million to $40 million to build a new, 15,000-seat Dillon Stadium in Colt Park. The lease would run for 49 years with the option to renew for an additional 49 years.

The city has said it would pay to demolish the old facility, built in 1935, and pay for site preparation, though officials have not given a specific cost estimate.

Duckett this week acknowledged that he was convicted of embezzlement in 1999 in connection with his work for Northern Virginia Temporaries, a staffing agency in Fairfax County. He said that in the late 1990s, when he was playing on practice squads with the Washington Redskins, a friend at the agency suggested that Duckett could use his name recognition to attract national accounts.

One of Duckett’s accounts had cut back on the number of temporary workers it needed from the agency but inadvertently continued for months to send payment for the full complement of staffers, Duckett said. The excess money — more than $200,000 before it was discovered — went into Duckett’s account.

Luke Bronin, a mayoral candidate who won the Democratic primary last month, said Thursday that he was “relieved” the council was “putting the brakes” on the project.

“Let’s take our time and do the due diligence necessary to ensure that we do what’s right for the city — at the Dillon Stadium site, and in all our neighborhoods,” he said.

Joel Cruz, a councilman who is running for mayor as an unaffiliated candidate, said he was a proponent of second chances, but the project’s finances concerned him.

“I have always been consistent with giving people a second chance but clearly this is more than giving someone a second chance — the finances aren’t in order,” he said. “You just can’t pass something that’s going to look bad for the city of Hartford and for the residents. … We’ve got to look at the finances and make sure it works.”

Source: The Hartford Courant