As the final piece of steel was put into place at the new Triple-A baseball stadium in downtown Reno on Friday, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini expressed happiness that the project was coming to life and no regrets that it didn’t end up being built in his town.

“It’s going to benefit Sparks as well as Washoe County,” Martini said, standing in the spot where five months from now Reno Aces and other minor league players will call shallow center field. “It doesn’t matter if it’s in Sparks or Reno as long as the Truckee Meadows gets it.”

On Friday morning, Martini, Reno Mayor Bob Cashell and a host of media members got a tour of the construction site of the new stadium, which is several weeks ahead of schedule, according to Reno Aces managing partner Stuart Katzoff.

“We couldn’t be happier with the project and how the fans have embraced us,” Katzoff said.

Around 3,000 fans so far have embraced the team, which is a Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, by putting down reservations for season tickets. The first game is slated for April 17, 2009.

Construction on the stadium began five months ago and has about five months to go. Located at the northeast corner of Second Street and Evans Avenue, the $50 million stadium will hold 9,000 fans and is expected to employ around 250 people on game day. Katzoff said hiring for stadium jobs will likely begin in March.

So far, the concrete shells of the dugouts and clubhouses are complete, the steel that will hold the seating is in the shape of a stadium and the exterior walls are taking shape. The tall walls are needed to help keep some long balls from sailing out of the park, Katzoff explained, because they travel farther at Reno’s 4,500-foot elevation. Fences are an inviting at 340 feet down the lines, 400 feet to center field and 420 feet to a nook in the right-center alley.

“It has aspects of a Fenway Park,” Katzoff said. “It’s tight and you are right on top of the action.”

Normally, Katzoff said, a project like this would take two years, whereas this stadium will be completed in 10 months.

Katzoff is an equal partner in SK Baseball along with his father, Jerry Katzoff, owner of a chain of East Coast Italian restaurants, and Herb Simon, a leading mall developer and owner of the NBA’s Indianapolis Pacers.

They bought the Tucson Sidewinders in 2006 and announced last year they intended to move the team to Reno. The stadium will seat 6,500, with a total capacity of 9,000 including the grass hill in right field like one at the home of the PCL’s Sacramento Rivercats.

The blueprint calls for the historic Freight House built in 1931 for the Southern Pacific Railroad to remain in place as part of a promenade down the left-field foul line — a smaller version of the B&O Warehouse at Baltimore’s Camden Yards or the Western Metal Supply Company Building at San Diego’s Petco Park.

The cheapest fixed seats for single games will go for $9, the most expensive box seats behind home plate will cost $25.

“We think we’ve priced the product absolutely right,” Katzoff said. “Of course, everyone is feeling the stress of the economy. But we are going to try to provide people with an affordable family entertainment outlet in these tough times.”

During baseball’s off-season, Katzoff said he hopes the stadium will host concerts, boxing, movies and other outdoors events. Phase two of the project, expected to be completed in 2010, will be comprised of bars, restaurants and an outdoor ampitheater. Phase three, the retail aspect, will be competed sometime later. Of the stadium’s price tag, $31 million is coming from revenue generated a county rental car tax.

Scott Sonner of the Associated Press contributed to this report.