Nashville mayor: No financing plan yet for Sulphur Dell ballpark
Though the Nashville Sounds (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) and the city agree Sulphur Dell is the best place for a new ballpark, there’s no financing plan in place, according to Mayor Karl Dean. Plans for a new Sounds ballpark were all but dead after Sounds owner Frank Ward rejected the idea of a Sulphur […]
Revamped for 2014: Spring Training Online
It looks like the DNS has propagated and everything is working properly, so we invite you to take a look at the relaunch of Spring Training Online, as we prep for 2014. The site has been overhauled and expanded, moving from Joomla to WordPress, which gives us a lot of flexibility in adding new features […]
Yakima gears up for summer collegiate ball in 2014
With summer-collegiate seasons finished, teams are looking toward 2014 — including the expansion Yakima team slated to play at Yakima County Stadium. The big reason why there was no baseball played this season at Yakima County Stadium: the former Yakima Bears (short season A; Northwest League) still had a lease on the facility and paid […]
Whitecaps to host 2014 Midwest League ASG
Should be worth the drive: The West Michigan Whitecaps and Fifth Third Ballpark are hosting the 2014 Class Midwest League All-Star Game on June 17 — the 50th ASG in league history. This will be the third time the Whitecaps have hosted the game in the team’s 20-year history. The Whitecaps first hosted the game […]
Otters closing out successful season
Nice to see such good news coming from an old, historic ballpark: the Evansville Otters (independent; Frontier League) are wrapping up a very successful season, with attendance up some 700 fans a game. In fact, the Otters are poised to lead the indy circuit in attendance for the very first time, averaging some 3,309 fans […]
Diablos close out El Paso tenure
The second incarnation of the El Paso Diablos (independent; American Association) came to an end yesterday, as the team wrapped up its season and history at Cohen Stadium. The original Diablos and flamboyant owner Jim Paul are still remembered fondly in some Minor League Baseball circles: an aggressive promoter whose approach to giveaways and promote […]
Unusual nuptuals: Pair gets hitched between innings in Sacramento
Ballpark weddings happen all the time, but the Sacramento River Cats (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) built a game promo around a between-innings ceremony. Now. it’s not totally unusual to be married on a game day — a search of the archives yielded a few instances of a couple getting married before the game and […]
TinCaps to give 2-millionth fan chance for $2 million
Amazing promo: The Fort Wayne TinCaps (Low Class A; Midwest League) are going to give the 2-millionth fan in TinCaps history a chance to win $2 million before the end of the 2013 season. “It’s a true testament to the support of this community,” said TinCaps President Mike Nutter. “We had so much fun celebrating […]
Brevard County: We’ll make another run at keeping Nats
With the Washington Nationals stymied in an effort to procure a new Kissimmee spring-training complex, Brevard County officials could offer a $29 million renovation of the team’s current home, Space Coast Stadium. Of course, all the money in the world can’t move Viera closer to the majority of Grapefruit League teams; you’re still talking over […]
Future of Cardinal Stadium: Bleak
It’s all but certain that Cardinal Stadium, former home of the Louisville Redbirds (Class AAA; American Association), will be torn down sometime next year. The issue: the place is basically falling down and there’s no economically viable reuse for the old facility, which also housed University of Louisville football. That’s a dangerous combo for an […]
It’s official: Northwoods League to Kalamazoo in 2014
Apparently the contracts have been signed and the operations can begin, with the summer-collegiate Northwoods League officially set to lease Kalamazoo’s Stryker Field for five years. The lease, at $35,000 per year, was approved earlier this year by the City Commission. The move into Kalamazoo creates a natural partner for the existing Battle Creek Bombers, […]
Scully to return to Dodgers broadcast booth next season
Oh happy day: Vin Scully will return next season as the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking his 65th season behind the mic. Scully, whose tenure with the Dodgers dates back to the team’s days in Brooklyn (the Los Angeles Dodgers have not played a home game without Scully in the booth), is currently […]
Announcing the 2013 Ballpark Digest Awards
It’s that time of year again: We want to hear your nominations for the 2013 Ballpark Digest Awards, to be announced in September. Each year we honor accomplishments in the baseball-business world, with honorees coming from the MLB, MiLB, independent, summer-collegiate and college ranks. Here are the categories: Promotion of the Year. Promotions are the […]