An artist's rendering of the restored Pullman Park, which comes with a $5 million price tag.

Can rebuilding an old ballpark revive a town?

Butler is gambling that it can. The city of 14,500 is about to launch a restoration of Pullman Park that could cost nearly $5 million, about half of it taxpayers' money.

Butler's city redevelopment authority will borrow the other $2.5 million and try to pay back the bank through money generated by the ballpark. Under the best of circumstances, a minor-league team would become the primary tenant and up to 4,000 fans would fill the stands on summer nights.

Perry O'Malley, director of the authority, says the ballpark could spur redevelopment of a Butler industrial zone turned brownfield. He calls the ballpark "the single most important project of the West End revitalization."

From 1935 until 1951, Pullman Park housed minor-league affiliates of the Pirates, Yankees, Tigers and Indians. Finding "a marquee team" and bringing it to town can be the start of a renaissance, Mr. O'Malley said.

Butler Mayor Maggie Stock is equally optimistic about the ballpark's potential to improve the economy. State and county grants totaling $2.3 million would pay for just under half of the project.

"This is a good use of funds," Ms. Stock said. "I went to a Pirates game recently and was struck by how the ballpark drives other support services. People were eating out and paying to park. I think we'll see that on a small scale."

Outside Butler's city government, there is less enthusiasm for spending millions on a ballpark.

Rodney Fort, a Washington State University sports economist, considers it a bad gamble.

"To say it's a crapshoot may be unfairly optimistic. You have better odds at a craps table than you do trying to improve your economic base with a ballpark that doesn't have a team," Dr. Fort said.

"Suppose they don't get a minor-league franchise? Then they're left with a more expensive ballpark that's used for the high school games and summer leagues they already have."

Dr. Fort said it would be wiser to target a project that would bring a taxpaying company to Butler's idle industrial area.

"Those are the kind of jobs that are going to contribute to the overall ability of the area to thrive. It's not as sexy as rebuilding a ballpark. It's not as interesting. It's not as fun. It's smarter."

Among smaller communities, Butler is not alone in putting taxpayers' money into ballparks.

In Washington County, 20 percent of Falconi Field's construction costs were financed with public dollars. The park houses the Washington Wild Things, which is a member of the Frontier League, a collection of 11 professional teams unaffiliated with big-league franchises. The Frontier League is one of the organizations Butler has courted.

Most of Falconi Field was built with private money raised through Ballpark Scholarships Inc. It describes itself as a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to provide affordable pro baseball in Washington County.

Any surpluses from the organization's lease with the Wild Things are used to fund college scholarships, said Colin Fitch, attorney for Ballpark Scholarships Inc. He said a dozen or so scholarships, worth $500 to $1,000 each, are distributed annually to students in Washington and Greene counties.

But the arrangement is controversial. The Trinity School District has challenged Falconi Field's claim that it should be exempt from paying property taxes of about $70,000 a year. The dispute between the district and the field owner is to be settled by a trial in Common Pleas Court.

The Wild Things, though, are the envy of Butler. They drew more than 3,000 fans a game last year.

In Marion, Ill., a city of 17,100, a $4 million state grant and a one-eighth-of-a-cent sales tax are being used to help pay for a new ballpark. Marion will be home to a new Frontier League team starting next year.

Marion Mayor Robert L. Butler estimated the ballpark will cost $12 million. The sales tax paid by Marion residents will contribute $400,000 a year and continue indefinitely.

"We don't feel we have to justify spending money for this project," the mayor said. "The ballpark has sort of been a catalyst for development."

Butler Mayor Stock said one of the many reasons she likes the ballpark project in her town is that it will have year-round capabilities. Pullman Park's complex, to be renovated by June, is to have space for outdoor markets and indoor banquets. That would give it money-making potential during baseball's off-season.

Ms. Stock concedes the project is a gamble, but she says it's a worthy one.

If Butler lands a minor-league team, its revamped ballpark could have as many as 4,000 seats. If the recruitment effort fails, capacity of the park could be scaled back to 1,500, a move that also could shave $1.25 million off construction costs. But then, as Dr. Fort says, millions would be spent on a ballpark without a pro team.

Dr. Fort said Butler leaders should not expect a turnaround from a ballpark. "The real question they should be asking is: How do I establish some sort of economic base that is going to be longer-lived than a minor-league baseball team that may be gone in three years anyway?"