The Iowa Senate, in an abrupt and unexpected move, voted Monday night to reject a bill providing $2.5 million in state sales tax rebates for an elite baseball tournament complex in the Cedar Rapids area that would draw professional and college scouts to watch high-caliber players.

Senate File 2312 struck out on a 28-22 vote after several lawmakers complained the measure was ill-defined and bad public policy.The final vote came immediately after Senate Minority Leader Bill Dix, D-Shell Rock, called a time out during the debate and huddled with his fellow Republicans, who then joined four Democrats in defeating the measure.

The bill would have modified a rebate of state sales tax approved in 2012 for the owner or operator of a baseball and softball tournament facility at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville that has yet to materialize.  It also put a cap on the legislation’s sales tax rebates at $16.5 million, which critics said was too much money.

Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, who is a former high school wrestling coach, urged defeat of the legislation. He suggested that perhaps one elite baseball or softball facility might make sense, but not a half-dozen or more, as envisioned by the bill.

“Why not 99? Then we could have one in every county,” Bowman said. He expressed concerns the measure would simply reshuffle discretionary spending by Iowans that might otherwise be spent at local movie theaters or at racetracks, adding the bill needed to be more sharply focused.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said he loves baseball and recalls attending games with his father, but his dad also cautioned him to be wise with his money. Instead of providing a state tax break of up to $16.5 million, lawmakers could use the tax revenue to pay for a summer reading program for struggling students, or to help reduce tuition at state universities and community colleges, he added.

“There are no higher responsibilities that we have than educating our kids,” Quirmbach said.

The legislation was aimed at helping the development of the nonprofit Prospect Meadows ball fields on a 121-acre site just north of Marion as a place to hold regional baseball tournaments. The proposed complex would include eight large regulation baseball fields and eight smaller fields with 300-foot fences, plus one “miracle field” for people with disabilities and special needs.

Supporters said the facility would attract players from as far away as Chicago, Kansas City, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and generate millions of dollars in tourism spending in Iowa. The program would be operated in a partnership with Perfect Game, which has run Scout Leagues in Iowa for more than 10 years.

Sen. William Dotzler, D-Waterloo, the bill’s floor manager, unsuccessfully tried to rebut the bill’s critics. He said elite tournaments aren’t being held in Iowa now because local fields are tied up by high school baseball teams during summer months. It’s important to recognize that many Iowa baseball players are leaving Iowa to play in other states, he added.

“The state has no risk, absolutely zero risk. The investors have all the risk,” Dotzler said.

The legislation could still resurface in the session’s final days. Both Dotzler and Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, filed motions for reconsideration Monday night after the bill was rejected, which could lead to another vote on the measure.