This may end up being the lost year for the Winston-Salem Dash; the team has laid off employees and is looking at spending the remainder of the season at the former Ernie Shore Field, now owned by Wake Forest.More bad news out of Winston-Salem: the Winston-Salem Dash (High Class A; Carolina League) has laid off employees, and with construction delayed on a new downtown ballpark, the team is bracing to play the rest of the season at Wake Forest Baseball Park, the former Ernie Shore Field.
The layoffs shouldn't be a surprise; the team ramped up the front office in anticipation of playing before large crowds at the new downtown ballpark, but no one is showing up to Wake Forest Baseball Park for Dash games. In total the team has drawn 5,586 fans through Wednesday's game.
The larger problem, though, is the future of the team. Co-owners Billy Prim and Andrew "Flip" Filipowski continue to negotiate Prim's purchase of the entire team, a process that's been going on for months. With the financials of the team unsettled, work has shut down on the downtown ballpark, and city officials have asked Prim about where he intends to get the money to complete the facility. And now many are realizing what we first reported weeks ago: it's most likely the team will play at Wake Forest Baseball Park for the rest of the season.
RELATED STORIES: New Winston-Salem ballpark unlikely to open this season; Dash to play at Ernie Shore Field through June 17 — at least; Dash announces new mascot; still working on new ballpark; Prim seeks $6 million in outside financing to complete ballpark; Will new Winston-Salem ballpark open on time?; Prim sought additional city financing for new W-S ballpark; More details released on Winston-Salem ballpark upgrades; Prim: New Winston-Salem ballpark may not open in April; New for 2009: The Winston-Salem Dash; New Winston-Salem ballpark opening may be delayed
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