While the recent Major League Baseball contract was approved for the use of Bowman Field at the Little League Classic, a Williamsport city councilman is looking for more contribution from the league in next year’s negotiated agreement.

Councilman Jon Mackey, who voted against the latest contract, said more investigation is warranted to get the league to pay more in terms of rent for its use of the parking space and public safety provision, covered by the city taxpayers.

“Where any other organization that would come to us and say we want to use your stadium, we would charge them for it,” Mackey said during the recent discussion with others at council.

He said language was added to the end of the contract to give MLB “a heads up to let them know we feel this contract needs to be renegotiated.”

He cited costs of $22,000 for police protection borne by the city. The city is getting close to $80,000 now that the taxpayers of Williamsport are on the hook for.

“I love everything about football, baseball, basketball,” Mackey said. “But I’m not going to let my love of sports get in the way of what’s right and what’s wrong.”

Councilwoman Bonnie Katz also asked about the cost for maintenance of the historic ballfield.

The league covers a significant portion of the cost for grounds-keeping, according to Mayor Derek Slaughter. At the meeting, the mayor said he could provide Katz and the council with those specific figures.

Councilman Randy Allison, who won’t be a party in the next MLB-city contract negotiation, said the city may be able to ask for things that are “not just dollars and cents,” and cautioned the city to maintain a non-adversarial approach in the negotiation.

“There may be other benefits that we can negotiate or ask for,” Allison said.

The field is currently getting some tender loving care, including a repaired water leak occurring at Logger’s Landing and a chain-link fence in the outfield, according to Scott Livermore, city public works director.

The Classic has become just that since the first game in 2017.

The league’s players interact with Little Leaguers at the international headquarters and watch their games before heading over to Journey Bank Park at Historic Bowman Field for the Classic, which is broadcast live on television.

The game is primarily reserved for Little League players and their families and part of the annual attraction over those two weeks that generates $40 million to the local economy as a result of the LLWS played each year in South Williamsport and the regular season MLB game in Williamsport.