Archives: July 28-Aug. 3, 2008

Group raises enough money to save Tiger Stadium — for now
Posted July 29, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy says it’s raised $420,000 — in less than two weeks, mind you — as a deposit on the preservation of Tiger Stadium, leading city officials to look to reverse a vote last week to tear down the entire ballpark. A scrap-metal demolition firm has been working on the demolition of the old ballpark at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull, which opened the same day as Fenway Park. The long-term plan is preserve the original Navin Field grandstand (its original name) and augment it with a sports museum. The group, which includes longtime Tiger broadcaster Ernie Harwell, raised $20,000 online, $400,000 through Harwell’s foundation, and secured loans for $700,000. A $4 million earmark is making its way through the federal budget, and federal and state tax credits will make up the rest of the $15 million needed for preservation and construction. This is an amazing development: many in Detroit city government had given up on the preservation of Tiger Stadium; that this group rallied to raise so much money in a rather short amount of time should be an inspiration for anyone wanting to save an old ballpark. The Detroit City Council will vote today on the preservation effort, but one prominent foe already concedes the ballpark should be saved. More from AP.

Knights ballpark is a go after legal mess resolved
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A new Uptown ballpark for the Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) should finally move ahead after legal challenges to the land-procurement formula were tossed out of court. Basically, developer Jerry Reese — who wants to bring MLB baseball to Charlotte as part of a billion-dollar development — challenged the way Mecklenburg County swapped land (as opposed to using bond money on it) to land the site of a new Knights ballpark, which will be privately financed. The ruling by Judge W. David Lee threw out all of Reese’s claims, saying the county board was within its rights to procure the land. Reese filed several suits, but eventually all of them were dismissed. We’re now looking at a 2010 opening for the ballpark, but some issues do remain — like final approval and the arranging of financing for the team. More from the Charlotte Observer.

Atlantic League reportedly interested in Richmond market
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We’re not entirely sure how serious this is: the independent Atlantic League is reportedly interested in placing a team in Richmond next season, after the Richmond Braves (Class AAA; International League) leave the market. Now, there’s no question the Atlantic League would succeed in The Diamond and Richmond: it’s a solid product and Richmond is a solid market. But it’s solid enough for affiliated baseball to work to keep the market, and while there are some questions about a new ballpark, there’s no question a Class AA Eastern League team would do quite well there. The interest of the Atlantic League, however, will probably cause some folks in St. Petersburg to pay even more attention to the process of deciding what happens to the market. More from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

WhiteWings open the doors for free the rest of the season
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As Harlingen, Cameron County and the surrounding communities clean up damage caused by Hurricane Dolly, the Harlingen WhiteWings (independent; United League Baseball) announced they will provide free admission to the remainder of the home schedule.
   "With everyone being impacted by the storm we want to do our part in providing some relief with giving free admission to every one of our last nine home games," WhiteWings General Manager Dave Kost said. "Driving around the city and the outlying areas, you see the devastation that has been left behind but more impressively, you see a community working together to get life returned to normal."
    The WhiteWings’ remaining nine home games are scheduled for July 30-August 4 and August 12-14.

Suns giving away the moon
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The Hagerstown Suns (Low Class A; Sally League) are giving away the moon — kinda. As part of a promotion tonght, the Suns will be giving 100 fans a chance to win a three-acre plot on the surface of the moon as the future site of the "Hagerstown Moons." Party Hearty Inflatables will be providing a Moon Bounce to be used as part of the contest. "We’ve been the Hagerstown Suns for 28 years, the Hagerstown Raindrops for a few days and maybe someday we will rightfully be called the Hagerstown Moons," said Suns GM Will Smith.
    The winner of the promotion will be presented a registered claim and deed for lunar property from the Lunar Republic Society, along with a photograph of the plot near the Mare Orientale and Montes Rook on the face of the moon.

Blowfish honor Dreyfuss
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As a founder of the World Series and the longtime owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Barney Dreyfuss was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday. We’re not going to spend any time on the induction ceremonies, which were widely covered (here’s the story from the Hall of Fame itself), but we do want to note another ceremony honoring Dreyfuss. Sunday also saw the Columbia Blowfish (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League) honor Dreyfuss: he built the field that is now Capital City Stadium in the 1920s, when he owned the Pirates and its farm team, the Columbia Comers. The ballpark was known as Dreyfuss Field opened on May 21, 1927 and was known by that name until the late 1940s.
    At the induction ceremony, Andrew Dreyfuss (Barney’s great grandson) gave homage to Columbia in his acceptance speech: "I’ll close with a story that illustrates our great-grandfather’s generosity and dedication to baseball. In the 1920’s, Pittsburgh had a minor league team, the Comers, in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1926, Columbia’s wooden stadium burned to the ground and the City did not have the resources to build a new one. Barney Dreyfuss was so passionate about Baseball that he donated the necessary funds to build a new stadium. Columbia’s Dreyfuss Field opened for play in 1927 and has housed minor league and college teams for the past eighty-one (81) years. At seven o’clock tonight, the Columbia Blowfish of the Coastal Plain League will play on the original Dreyfuss Field wearing 1927 replica jerseys to honor Barney Dreyfuss. What a wonderful tribute!"
    Interestingly, the city managed to misname a street behind the ballpark: Blowfish owner Bill Shanahan has asked the city to change the sign to the correct spelling of Dreyfuss Road.

Topeka ballpark planning moves to private sector
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Planning for a new Topeka ballpark — carried out to date by Stewart Sports Group and the DLR Group, funded by the private Go Topeka group — is at a standstill while additional sources of private financing are arranged. Technically, the contract for specific services has expired, and Stewart is seeking a new contract to represent the city in negotiations with independent leagues and overseeing private development of the park. Landing the Topeka market will require some capital: the city has made it plain it will not be funding a new ballpark. More detail at the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Congress extends investigation of Yankee Stadium funding plan
Posted July 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform continues its investigation of new Yankee Stadium funding by focusing on whether the city inflated the value of land under the ballpark in order to justify higher levels of bonding. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) is looking at two wildly different estimates of ballpark land — one of $275 per square foot and another of $45 — and seeing whether the higher valuation was used inappropriately. It’s hard to say any land in New York City is worth only $45 a square foot, but the implications are obvious: the level of available bonding must be tied to the actual value of the land, and if the city inflated the worth of the land then the bonding deal was potentially illegal. There are two real targets here: The $941 million in original bonding could be subject to higher taxes, while the Yankees’ request for $366 million in additional bonds could also be subject to higher taxes. Then again, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has a way of making a lot of noise and then never following up with anything tangible; witness the ballyhooed steroid hearings that led nowhere.  More from the New York Daily News.

Nats raise hackles of enviros with Exxon advertising
Posted July 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
When you’re pushed for a "green" ballpark and positioned yourself as a friend of the environment, you have certain obligations from a marketing viewpoint. That’s why for many the large ExxonMobil ad on the left-field wall at Nationals Park has become a symbol for opponents of the oil giant, who want to see the Washington Nationals drop its advertising relationship. The team has made environmental awareness a cornerstone of this year’s marketing moves — a recent home series included an ExxonMobil-sponsored promotion with the Alliance to Save Energy — but the team and ExxonMobil are still drawing criticism from Mike Tidwell, the leader of Strike Out Exxon: "The more environmental the Nationals make that park seem, the stronger the payday for Exxon,” Tidwell told The New York Times. "It’s an amazing perversion." No, it’s not a perversion: it’s a reality of the modern corporate world. If a baseball team had to rely on marketing dollars from companies pure of spirit, you’d see a lot of empty boards on the outfield wall: those against drunken driving would eliminate beer and liquor advertising, and Lord know a lot of mainstays in MLB marketing — like airlines and truck companies — are among the biggest polluters on the planet. And let’s not even discuss any marketing dollars from the likes of Lyondell or 3M. We know that green marketing is the wave of the future — in fact, we’re putting the final touches on a new site covering green sports venues — but some criticisms border on the silly.

Fan seriously hurt after Shea Stadium fall — again
Posted July 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
A fan was seriously hurt after a fall at Shea Stadium, four months after another fan was killed in a similar incident. Justin Larson, 26, fell from the box-seat level to the floor near Gate D at around 10 p.m.; he remains in intensive care. Larson was reportedly sliding down the handrail of a broken escalator before he lost his balance and fell. As you might expect, the New York Mets are withholding comment. In April, Antonio Nararainsami of Brooklyn fell two levels from an escalator as he was leaving a Mets game.

Left-field stands at Tiger Stadium removed; group faces funding deadline
Posted July 28, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The left-field seating at Tiger Stadium has been removed, giving fans a little different look at the Corner. Originally there was housing beyond the left-field fence at Tiger Stadium, but in 1938 the owners of the Tigers totally enclosed what was then known as Briggs Stadium. More from the Detroit Free Press. As work continues on the ballpark demolition, advocates of saving the original Navin Field grandstand face an important deadline: they have until Aug. 1 — Friday — to come up with $369,000 as a deposit on restoration and conservancy.