Archives: March 24-30, 2008
South Coast League officially suspends operations
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
It’s official: the independent South Coast League announced today it is suspending operations for the 2008 season. The release also holds out hope the league may relaunch in 2009 — "The league owners have indicated they will continue to plan for a possible restart in 2009, possibly under new ownership" — but we don’t see that happening: there’s nothing, really, for anyone to purchase past a few team names and equipment, and anyone who wants to do business in that region would probably want to begin from scratch. The league began play last season with six teams but quickly dropped the Bradenton team and converted it to a travel team; after losing a lease in Charlotte County (where the Redfish was one of the more successful franchises), a plan to play with only four teams was not deemed feasible.
Changes in the offing for the Warthogs
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
There have been some changes in the front office of the Winston-Salem Warthogs (High Class A; Carolina League), as team president Guy Schuman has stepped down and is no longer with the club. Other changes apparently are afoot; we’ve been told management of the team will be assumed by Mandalay Sports, with the transition planned to be announced at an April 16 press conference. Mandalay is a prime player in the baseball world, and it seems to be growing via management of other franchises: it manages the Staten Island Yankees (short season; NY-Penn League) for the New York Yankees and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) on behalf of Lackawanna County. The Warthogs are still planning a new ballpark to replace Ernie Shore Field.
Presenting our newest site: Soccer Stadium Digest
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The world’s most popular sport finally has a website to cover where it is being played. We’re excited to bring you Soccer Stadium Digest, dedicated to the latest news and information regarding the stadiums where the game is played both professionally and on the amateur level. While the website will be focused on the game in North America, it will include news from all over the world.
"With the World Cup on the horizon (2010 in South Africa) and the continual explosion of soccer in North America, this seemed the right time to add this site," said Kevin Reichard, founder/publisher of August Publications. "There is a constant supply of soccer news. In a very real sense, we are just catching up to the world."
The website is the 12th for the company, which include Arena Digest, as well as websites dedicated to Yellowstone Park and the world of scooters.
The site’s focus will be on the culture of international football (soccer to most Americans) and the facilities where fans play out that passion. The site will preview upcoming stadiums, visit noteworthy stadiums, and bring you some nostalgic looks at stadiums of the past.
The site debuts with a founding advertiser, HOK Sport. The 25-year-old company has been the guiding force behind some of the world’s most unique stadiums. Although best known in the United States for such places as Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Heinz Field, AT&T Park (and such current projects as the new stadium under construction in Minneapolis), HOK has worked on nearly 20 soccer stadiums. In addition to the new Wembley Stadium (London, England), Telstra Stadium (Australia) and the Hong Kong Stadium, HOK built Dick’s Sporting Goods Park near Denver, one of the few soccer-only facilities in the United States.
Goodbye, Al Lang
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Today marks the final spring-training game played at Al Lang Field in downtown St. Petersburg. We said our goodbyes to the venerable baseball site earlier in spring training when a surprisingly good crowd of over 4,300 was on hand to see the Tampa Bay Rays host the Cleveland Indians. Seven teams have used Al Lang Field for spring-training games — the Boston Braves, the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, the New York Giants, the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles and the Rays — and for many the waterfront location and palm trees in the distance symbolized what made Grapefruit League baseball so special. True, the ballpark on the site isn’t really historic (it dates from the 1970s and features a lot of concrete), and the area around the ballpark has been built up with hotels and housing, but a walk around the ballpark reminds you of the rich history inherent in this site. The Rays are proposing a new open-air ballpark on the Al Lang site, and if all goes well baseball will stay there for many decades to come. Speaking of endings: yesterday the Cleveland Indians played their last spring game at Chain of Lakes Park. Winter Haven officials already have decided baseball will be banished from the 70-acrew site next to Lake Lulu: the complex will be torn down and an upscale retail/housing development will be pursued.
Where will Orioles be next spring?
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have officially told the world the team will be training next spring in Arizona, the next issue for many baseball observers: what will happen to Dodgertown? The answer to that is closely intertwined with what happens with the Baltimore Orioles in future springs. Some background: the Orioles have planned a $40-million expansion of Fort Lauderdale Stadium that would basically tear the ballpark down to the girders and rebuild the facility; it also calls for nearby Lockhart Stadium to be town down to make way for more playing fields and a minor-league complex. (Currently Orioles minor leaguers train in Sarasota; the Orioles are the only MLB team left that splits the major- and minor-league complexes.) Fort Lauderdale has enthusiastically embraced the plan, money from Broward County has been set aside, state funding of $15 million is lined up, and all that’s holding the deal up is permission from the Federal Aviation Authority to build the new facility (it’s located at the edge of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport). As with any dealings with the federal government, the locals are finding out the Feds do everything on their own schedule, but we’ve been told a decision should be reached by the end of April. This probably doesn’t provide enough time for a new ballpark to be built for 2009, though new practice fields and a training facility probably could be completed. As a backup plan the Orioles also have an option on Dodgertown with Indian River County. We did a little asking around, and here’s what we were told: the Orioles would prefer staying in Fort Lauderdale. That’s choice #1. Dodgertown is a backup, but the option is taken more seriously by Indian River County officials than it is the Orioles, and even if the Fort Lauderdale deal falls through it’s not a sure thing the Orioles would move spring operations to Vero Beach: some team officials want to explore Sarasota as an option if Ed Smith Stadium becomes available. (Remember, the Orioles already have operations there). In other words, things are still up in the air, and a decision by the FAA should resolve things one way or another — or get another ball rolling.
Bullfrogs to announce ballpark upgrades next week
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Green Bay Bullfrogs (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) will be announcing upgrades to Joannes Stadium at a press conference next week. Joannes Stadium is the historic home of baseball in Green Bay — Frank Howard played in the ballpark when the Dodgers ran a farm team there — and a strong start in the team’s inaugural season is leading owner Jeffrey Royle to add more permanent seating and spiffing up things even more. (Check out our page on Joannes Stadium; new are several photos sent in from the Bullfrogs.)
Today’s video: La Crosse Loggers commercial
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The La Crosse Loggers (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) are running three promotional spots in anticipation of the 2008 season. Here’s the first of the three; you can get a pretty good view of Copeland Park and you can also hear GM Chris Goodell push those season tickets. Speaking of videos: it’s that time of year again when teams are releasing videos and commercials for the upcoming season. Send them to us via email, and we’ll post them here for the baseball world to see. For a variety of reasons we’d prefer you email us the actual video and not a link.
Dodger fans fear for the worst as season opens
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
We’re still not sure how a ballpark like Dodger Stadium can be surrounded by a sea of parking and the team still manages to irritate fans with a poorly conceived parking plan. In the old days, you parked at the gate nearest your seat, but these days the Dodgers push you toward open parking spots in the name of efficiency — and too bad if your seat’s on the other side of the ballpark. You can expect there to be some parking woes tonight when the Dodgers host the Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game; the team says the addition of 1,000 more spots should help things out, but the only real solution to is to stop the ham-handed parking management and go back to the old system. More from the Los Angeles Times.
Over 100,000 tickets sold for Coliseum matchup
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Speaking of parking messes: the Los Angeles Dodgers have sold over 100,000 tickets for tomorrow’s exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox at the Los Angeles Coliseum, which will surely strain parking in the area as well as the Coliseum itself. If all of these folks show up, we could see a record for the largest crowd ever to witness a baseball game. The old record was set at the Coliseum when 93,105 fans showed up to an exhibition game honoring Roy Campanella on May 7, 1959. The exhibition honors the move of the Dodgers from Brooklyn; the team called the Coliseum home from 1958 to 1961 while Dodger Stadium was under construction.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs begin play with Sunday exhibition
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Class AAA; International League) will begin their existence with a Sunday exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Coca-Cola Field. For the former Ottawa Lynx, the begin of play in Allentown is truly the end of an odyssey began over a decade ago when co-owner Craig Stein first attempted to bring a team to the area, The game against the Phillies, by the way, is sold out. More from the Morning Call.
White Sox offer alternatives to staying at TEP
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Whoever wrote the lease for the Chicago White Sox at Tucson Electric Park did a pretty good job, because there’s virtually no way the White Sox can break the lease — which runs through 2012 — without paying millions in penalties, upwards of $21 million. But the owners want to shift spring operations to a new complex in Glendale. So the White Sox are looking at several alternatives to breaking the lease, according to some Tucson officials we’ve talked with. One alternative is to play the minimum number of games at Tucson Electric Park while actually training in a new Glendale complex; that would require a lot of split squads making the trip south for a "home" game. Another has the White Sox setting up a youth baseball program that would use the ballpark, but the numbers don’t really work for that alternative. The White Sox have virtually given up finding a replacement for the Tucson Electric Park lease, and it doesn’t sound they’re passionately advocating these alternatives, either.
Construction to begin on new Gwinnett County ballpark
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
A final roadblock to construction of a new Gwinnett County ballpark for the relocated Richmond Braves (Class AAA; International League) was removed when the Atlanta Regional Commission gave permission for the $45 million project to proceed. There are some outstanding issues — like the lack of a lease between the Braves and the county — but the decision by the commission allows actual construction to begin. This is key, as the team expects to be playing there in 2009.
Cards, city debate future of Ballpark Village
Posted March 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The decision by Centene Corp. to withdraw from the Ballpark Village project next to the new Busch Stadium is causing the Cardinals, developer Cordish Co. and the city to reexamine the project and determine what sort of plan is feasible. Originally, the site of the former Busch Stadium was envisioned as an entertainment and retail district. Then, when companies like Borders Books decided against participation, it was envisioned as a corporate headquarters and housing project. With Centene gone and the housing market stalled, it’s hard to see what’s next. The city has already committed $100 million in tax incentives and officials say they will commit no more; the Cards say a new plan should be forthcoming, if nothing other than to have something in the empty hole for next season’s All-Star Game. More from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Dodgers confirm move to Arizona in spring 2009; will notify Indian River County officials
Posted March 27, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Gotta love our sources. Several hours after we reported a new spring-training site for the Los Angeles Dodgers would be ready for 2009, Frank McCourt confirms our reporting after meeting with construction officials: in Glendale. "The facility will absolutely be ready for us for next spring training," McCourt told the Los Angeles Times. "All systems are go and the facility is going to be everything we expected." The next move is informing Indian River County officials that the team will not be returning to Vero Beach and Dodgertown in 2009, something that must be done by March 31. Indian River County officials think they have a replacement in the Baltimore Orioles, but we continue to hear the Orioles want to see what happens with a proposed ballpark renovation in Fort Lauderdale before making any decisions. Also present at the meeting was Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, but he didn’t make any similar comments about a 2009 move. We’ve heard ChiSox officials have virtually given up on attracting a replacement team for the Tucson Electric Park lease, and we can’t imagine Reinsdorf and crew will pay $21 million for the privilege of moving 110 miles north, the cost of breaking the lease. The White Sox’s lease with Tucson has no out the team can exploit, but the lease with Glendale does allow the team to delay a spring move. So we expect it will, and so do many close observers of the Cactus League.
In other spring-training news, Florida officials held a press conference to tout the joys of the Grapefruit League. Not quite sure what the point of the press conference was, other to highlight the fact Florida spends less on new facilities than Arizona has. More from the IHT.
Centene drops plans to move to Ballpark Village NEW!
Posted March 27, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Centene Corp. confirmed the rumors swirling around the past few weeks: it would be not be locating a new headquarters at the $250-million Ballpark Village project next to the new Busch Stadium. The Ballpark Village, as developed by the Cardinals and Cordish Co., was seen as an important urban redevelopment scheme; the Cards were banking on it for financial reasons and the city was banking on it providing new jobs for a struggling downtown. And Centene’s plan to move 1,200 jobs from suburban Clayton was a lynchpin of that redevelopment. No one is saying what caused Centene to withdraw from the project; here’s what the Cards and Cordish said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the parties could not come to an agreement, despite months of effort and the best intentions of the City, Centene, and the Ballpark Village team. Ultimately, the many complexities of Centene’s proposed project in Ballpark Village proved insurmountable." The pair says financing is in place for whatever will happen at Ballpark Village, but it’s not clear exactly what’s planned: with the condo market going south and the general economy going sour, finding a robust tenant mix may be difficult. Many in baseball are watching what happens with Ballpark Village: using a ballpark as the centerpiece of a larger redevelopment has been a popular plan in recent years, but they’ve proven to be difficult to implement, both on the major- and minor-league levels. More from AP.
Early reviews on new Nats ballpark: mixed NEW!
Posted March 27, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
We can expect an orgy of coverage this weekend when the Washington Nationals fully open Nationals Park with an exhibition against the Baltimore Orioles and a season opener against the Atlanta Braves, but we have a review of sorts from the folks at George Washington University, whose baseball team played there earlier this week. The review was mixed, noting that the views from the ballpark — especially the entrances — were uninspiring (unless you love views of parking garages) and that the facility lacked a signature item. (Cherry blossoms will be planted past the outfield fence later.) Some in baseball argue that signature items are overrated, but we’re not sure: the Nats needed to make a strong statement after asking fans to put up with subpar experiences at RFK Stadium, and it make take a few seasons for the team to mold the personality of the place. More from the Free Lance-Star and the Washington Post.
Today’s video: Diamond Duck prepares for the season
Posted March 27, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
This spot from the Richmond Braves (Class AAA; International League) shows how the team’s mascot, Diamond Duck, trains for the opening of the season. Sometimes it’s really easy to get cynical about the business of baseball, but seeing kids having a great time with a mascot like Diamond Duck makes you yearn even more for the beginning of the season. Speaking of videos: it’s that time of year again when teams are releasing videos and commercials for the upcoming season. Send them to us via email, and we’ll post them here for the baseball world to see. For a variety of reasons we’d prefer you email us the actual video and not a link.