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CHARLOTTE – Under the original plans, the Charlotte Knights would already be playing in Uptown, but several lawsuits and a bad recession later, the eight-acre site for a new stadium is still empty.

With critical deadlines looming for the team, Uptown baseball supporters are pitching a new idea.

Charlotte City Council member James Mitchell said the city is looking at chipping in between $6 million and $11 million for the project. A study will be released next week measuring the economic impact of regional teams and events.

The council's economic development committee will then take up the idea.

"What's very important to us is the job creation component, as well as the additional tax revenue having the stadium downtown, would generate for the citizens," said Mitchell.

Fellow councilman Michael Barnes says he's all for bringing baseball to Uptown, but said the city shouldn't be footing the bill.

"As you know, we have bitten off quite a bit with the NASCAR Hall of Fame and I'm not sure that I'd be comfortable spending several millions more on another sports facility," said Barnes, adding the Knights project has been a county issue for years.

The city has until April 1 to negotiate with the team, but time for the Knights is running out.

Under its amended lease with the county, they must have two major sponsors lined up by March 31 or risk losing the land.

In response to the ongoing negotiations, Dan Rajkowski, Charlotte Knights general manager issued this statement: “The Knights organization is pleased with the progress of the ballpark project. We continue to work aggressively to put together all the elements of this project to make it a reality in the Center City of Charlotte. We welcome all discussions that lead us to a public-private partnership that will create jobs, economic impact and an enhanced quality of life in this region.”

Local attorney Jerry Reese said he plans on filing another lawsuit to stop the project.

He says a city of Charlotte's stature should be focused on bringing in a major league team, not spending millions on the minor leagues.