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Yard Goats to begin 2016 season on road

Hartford Yard GoatsWith it clear Dunkin’ Donuts Park won’t be ready for the 2016 season opener, the Hartford Yard Goats (Class AA; Eastern League) will open the campaign on the road through at least May 8, according to league officials.

As you’ll recall, the last two weeks saw bad news about funding shortfalls and construction delays at the new Hartford ballpark. We do know the ballpark won’t open on April 7, but we don’t know exactly when it will happen. We do know the construction cost is at least $10.3 million over budget, but we don’t know exactly who will pay for it: the developer says the city botched the situation, but the city says the ballpark has a fixed budget cost of $56 million and that the developer is responsible for all overages. It sounds like the Eastern League office wasn’t informed of the issues, and needed to step in to make sure the league would run smoothly. It’s the second year Minor League Baseball has dealt with a delayed ballpark in two years: last year the opening of MGM Park, home of the Biloxi Shuckers (Class AA; Southern League), was delayed for several months after construction delays.

The dates changed:

April 7-April 10 (Hartford Yard Goats vs. Richmond Flying Squirrels)
This series will now be hosted by the Richmond Flying Squirrels from April 7-April 9. The clubs will play a doubleheader on April 9 and Sunday, April 10 will become an off day for both clubs.

April 11-April 13 (Hartford Yard Goats vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats)
This series will now be hosted by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

April 22-April 24 (Hartford Yard Goats vs. Portland Sea Dogs)
This series will now be hosted by the Portland Sea Dogs from April 22-April 24. The clubs will play a doubleheader on April 23 and Thursday, April 21 will become an off day for both clubs.

April 25-April 27 (Hartford Yard Goats vs. Harrisburg Senators)
This series will now be hosted by the Harrisburg Senators from April 26-April 28. The off day originally scheduled for Thursday April 28 will be moved to Monday, April 25.

May 6-May 8 (Hartford Yard Goats vs. New Hampshire Fisher Cats)
This series will now be hosted by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

This may not be the last we hear of schedule changes: a final opening date for the ballpark has not been set, as the city and the developer tussle over a new $10.3-million funding gap for the facility.

RELATED STORIES: Solomon: “Awful, depressing, disconcerting” ballpark situation; New Hartford ballpark opening delayed at least a month; New Hartford ballpark cost estimate: $10.3 million over budget; City: New Hartford ballpark may open late; Value engineering underway in Hartford; Hartford Yard Goats unveil logos, colors; A branding exercise: Hartford Yard Goats; New for 2016: Dunkin’ Donuts Park; After Rock Cats, what becomes of New Britain Stadium?; New for 2016: Hartford Yard Goats; Hartford ballpark construction begins; Hartford ballpark groundbreaking set for February; Hartford overhauls ballpark financing plan; Hartford approves Rock Cats ballpark project

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