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Archives: Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 2007

Archives: Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 2007

Rays unveil plans for new ballpark
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Tampa Bay Rays formally unveiled their plans for a new waterfront ballpark that could open as soon as 2012 if things go smoothly. The new ballpark, to be built on the current site of Al Lang Field, would seat around 35,000 and jut directly onto the waterfront, giving power hitters a chance to jack the ball into the water a la AT&T Park. The $450-million ballpark would be paid through $150 million paid in rent by the Rays, $60 million in proposed sales-tax rebates from the state, and the proceeds of the sale of the current Tropicana Field site. The design is interesting, to say the least: a 320-foot-high mast (which reminds us somewhat of the tower at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium) supporting a fabric, sail-like covering that could provide shade to fans in the grandstand. As an added bonus, the mast would appear to be like the mast of a giant ship, perfect for a ballpark located on the bay. Also, interestingly, the HOK Sport design totally eschews anything retro: not a single brick will need to die to build the ballpark, and the emphasis is on sleek, nautical-like materials. If you’re been at Al Lang Field you know it’s located on a small site, but in reality it’s not too small: the 15 acres projected for the ballpark site is larger than the site of the Minnesota Twins ballpark under construction and would have room for the ballpark, 45,000 square feet of retail space, a small parking garage and a terraced park. There are several things that need to happen before the new ballpark opens. First, St. Petersburg voters must approve a zoning change for the Al Lang Field site. Secondly, city officials would need to approve the sale of the Tropicana Field to private developers (the Rays are working with Hines on this already) and then balance some delicate financial matters: the city still owes over $100 million on Tropicana Field and the Rays want to some sort of tax-increment financing from the Trop redevelopment to pay for the new ballpark. (Neighborhood groups are already pledging opposition to the project.) Third, the state must approve $60 million in sales-tax rebates, but Rays officials say this isn’t a crucial step, and approval would be iffy at best, even with the support of Gov. Charlie Crist. More renderings and information on the new ballpark here. More from the St. Pete Times, the Tampa Tribune and AP.

Ottawa approves lease for Can-Am team
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Ottawa city councillors approved a $108,000-a-year lease with the independent Can-Am Association to bring a team there for the 2008 season, a stunning change from the city’s previous plans to turn Lynx Stadium over to a developer. The deal doesn’t mean an end to the legal woes between the city and the previous tenant, the Ottawa Lynx (Class AAA; International League): The Lynx are suing for about $11 million claiming the city didn’t honor some of the guarantees it negotiated to help the team stay in town. (The Lynx are moving to Allentown, Pa., next season.) A deal with a developer was put on hold when a large financial backer of the project, Steelback Breweries, filed for bankruptcy last week.

Fisher Cats unveil new logos, uniforms
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Class AA; Eastern League) unveiled a brand new logo, uniforms and team colors during an afternoon news conference at Merchantsauto.com Stadium. The official team colors become emerald green, black, white and silver.
    The redesigned home uniforms are white with black piping around the arms and neck, down the front of the jersey and along the side of the legs. “Fisher Cats” will be displayed in script across the chest in emerald green lettering with a gold fill and a black outline. An emerald green "NH" logo will adorn the left sleeve with a silver Fisher Cat’s tail crossing the "H". There will also be a home alternate white sleeveless uniform with the green "NH" logo on the left breast. The Fisher Cats’ new image was designed by Rickabaugh Graphics of Gahanna, OH.

Harrison Square groundbreaking today
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The man who has ultimate responsibility for seeing that the Harrison Square project gets built says the ballpark development is right on schedule to open in the spring of 2009. Jim Irwin is in town from Atlanta for this morning’s groundbreaking. Irwin says the baseball stadium itself has undergone some minor design changes, but that the revisions would go unnoticed by the public. The land where the development is being built is a muddy mess right now, but that won’t stop the official groundbreaking from taking place. The project includes a new hotel, parking garage, condos and retail space, but the highlight will be a new ballpark for the Fort Wayne Wizards (Low Class A; Midwest League).

Pirates to debut night baseball in spring training
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Pittsburgh Pirates released a spring-training schedule yesterday, complete with two night games at McKechnie Field. Lights were installed at the team’s spring home this past offseason, leading the way to night baseball in Bradenton. McKechnie Field is the last spring-training facility to sport lights, which is certainly the end of an era. If you’re looking to set up your spring-training trip, Spring Training Online has the latest in schedules. More from the Bradenton Herald.

Ex-mayor steps up criticism of A’s Fremont ballpark proposal
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
As the Fremont City Council prepared to name an environmental consultant for the Oakland A’s Cisco Field project, former Mayor Gus Morrison stepped up his criticism of the ballpark plan. In an e-mail sent to city leaders Sunday, Morrison wrote that the ballpark village proposal couldn’t rely on nearby businesses to remedy a potential long-term parking shortage. With only 5,800 permanent parking spaces identified for the proposed 32,000-seat ballpark, A’s brass had told the City Council in September that the team might be able to contract with nearby businesses to use their parking spaces on game nights and weekends. The team says it intends to supply at least 10,500 spaces for patrons. However, Morrison said than an eight-hour survey he conducted using Google Earth turned up only 4,199 non-retail parking spaces within a mile of the proposed ballpark.

Frontier League unveils 2008 schedule; adios, Slippery Rock
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The independent Frontier League announced its 2008 schedule, and there are two interesting things to report. First, the league is switching back to two divisions from an awkward three, a move most teams will embrace. Second, the league announced the Slippery Rock Sliders are no more, as the league pulls the plug on the team after a year. Instead, the Midwest Sliders will be the league’s road team. UPDATE: The league issued a press release about the demise of the Sliders. Said Commissioner Bill Lee in the release: "We can’t demonstrate enough our gratitude to everyone at Slippery Rock University for their assistance during the 2007 season. Without their cooperation we would have never been able to field a team there. We want to personally thank SRU President, Dr. Robert Smith, Athletic Director Paul Lueken, and Head Baseball Coach Jeff Messer for their efforts. They will always be a part of the Frontier League family. Also, we want to thank all of the University professors, students and local citizens who assisted in the Slippery Rock operation last season." For those keeping score at home, former Sliders GM Steve Tahsler is now GM of the Windy City ThunderBolts.

Officials looking for mastermind to head up work on new downtown
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Bidding has opened for construction management and environmental survey proposals for redevelopment projects in the downtown Bowling Green Tax Increment Financing district. In what is being seen as the next major step of the downtown redevelopment project, the Warren County Downtown Economic Development Authority opened the bidding process Tuesday to find a company to manage the planning and construction of a 4,000-seat minor league ballpark, 790-space parking facility and related infrastructure.

Baseball league eyes fielding new team at Fairgrounds
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Nueces County is now officially searching for a new baseball team, and there’s at least one league representative ready to talk business. Independent United League Baseball President Brad Wendt has exchanged emails with county officials over the past few days and says the process with any potential suitor has to start soon.  An empty South Texas ballpark waiting for a team is the kind of scenario Wendt is looking for. The league president has been to fairgrounds field on multiple occasions over the years, and he feels a Robstown team would fit right into the United League, which fielded six teams in 2007. Five were in Texas and one in Louisiana.

Avon scouts ball field prospects
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
City officials are going to Florence, Ky., today to see Champion Window Field, home of the Frontier League’s Florence Freedom, in hopes of gleaning information that as they move to secure Avon’s own independent Frontier League team. Mayor Jim Smith will be joined by a group that includes a team of architects, Council President Clinton Pelfrey, planning coordinator Jim Piazza and Matt Perry, a partner in a Frontier League investment group. Smith said he hopes to learn how Champion Window Field and the Florence Freedom (independent; Frontier League) work with the city. The mayor is pushing to bring a minor-league baseball team to Avon by 2009.

Council: No baseball planned for Ballpark
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Despite renewed hopes that the Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach, the former home of the Maine Guides (Class AAA; International League), could be used for baseball once again, a majority of town councilors agreed repairing and restoring it would be too expensive. Rumors that the Ballpark might become a home for the Old Orchard Beach high school baseball team started to circulate after a local developer cleared trees and brush from field and town employees mowed the grass at the ballfield, which had long sat in disrepair and is currently used as a dog park.

Terlecky to be honored by Pitch and Hit Club
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Congrats to one of our favorite people in baseball. Bill Terlecky, Vice President & General Manager of the 2007 Northern League Champion Gary-SouthShore RailCats, has been selected as Minor League Baseball Executive of the Year by the Pitch and Hit Club of Chicago. Terlecky will be honored on January 20, 2008 at the club’s 62nd Annual Professional Baseball Awards Dinner.

Topps, Goldklang Group to honor scouts
Posted Nov. 29, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Topps Company, Inc. and the Goldklang Group announced a partnership agreement naming Topps the official sponsor of the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame (PBSHOF) campaign at all six Goldklang Group minor league baseball clubs. The Group-affiliated clubs (Charleston RiverDogs, Ft. Myers Miracle, Hudson Valley Renegades, St. Paul Saints, Brockton Rox, Sioux Falls Canaries) will create premium new year-round inventory that shall be designated solely for the PBSHOF.
    The Goldklang Group activated a ballpark campaign to spotlight the tremendous dedication of Professional Baseball Scouts, tireless and devoted individuals who spend a significant amount of their lives on the road, and create recognition for their invaluable contributions to the game of baseball. There will be a ceremony and established dedication area at each ballpark honoring a scout each year throughout the league schedule.
    In conjunction with the ballpark campaigns, Topps plans to feature scouts on their trading cards including the creation of special cards to share with each inductee. The dedication areas at each ballpark are slated to be finalized prior to the start of the 2008 season.