The Mobile City Council authorized the sale of Ladd-Peebles Sports and Entertainment Complex to the Mobile County Public School System yesterday, opening the way for the Mobile County Board of School Commissioners to consider the matter at a special called meeting on July 6, councilmember William Carroll said.

“This is a great thing for the community,” Councilmember Cory Penn said in the meeting. “Right now, we have the opportunity to do some great things.”

Last week, the city council authorized an intergovernmental agreement with the school system that will allow for the city to use the stadium for certain events, including HBCU football games, even after the stadium comes under the control of the school system.

In exchange, the city agrees to provide $9 million in maintenance and renovation costs over the next ten years, in addition to the nearly $1 million that the city is spending this summer for immediate field repair and expenses. Earlier this month, the city of Mobile took immediate control of the stadium after learning that the stadium would be unable to make payroll and was in arrears on utility payments.

How much the school board will pay for renovating the stadium is unclear. Rena Philips, a spokesperson for the school system, said that how much the school system is willing to put into the stadium remains undecided.