Wilmington (N.C.) and Mandalay Baseball Properties are still discussing a lease for a new ballpark, even as the city is preparing to put a proposal before voters in a fall referendum. There are many issues outstanding in the lease negotiations, which should last through next week, if not longer: the coat of the ballpark, how […]
Tag Archives | lease
It’s official: Yakima Bears to Hillsboro in 2013
It’s official: the Yakima Bears (short season A; Northwest League) are moving to a new Hillsboro (Ore.) ballpark next year, after the two sides agreed on a lease today. It’s not a surprise: the two sides had agreed on a term sheet earlier, so there were only some small details to work out before the […]
Twins sign 30-year spring-training lease extension
The Minnesota Twins and Lee County agreed on a 30-year lease extension to keep the team in Fort Myers, but the rest of the agreement — covering improvements and funding — is not yet public. It’s an unusual situation, to be sure. And there are plenty of contingencies at play, so it’s not nearly important […]
San Jose to fund Municipal Stadium repairs
An attempt to hold up routine maintenance on Municipal Stadium, home of the San Jose Giants (High Class A; California League), as a proxy battle against the San Francisco Giants failed today. The routine maintenance, slated to cost $85,000, would improve field drainage and add striping to the parking lot, among other things, per the […]
Twins present spring-training wish list to Lee County
Player dorms, more seats at Hammond Stadium and infrastructure improvements are on the Minnesota Twins’ wish list for the team’s Lee County spring-training complex. Opening in 1991, Hammond Stadium and the Lee County Sports Complex are showing their age; once the complex was the state of the art for spring training but now come up […]
Beacon makes it official: No Ottawa EL team in 2013
Ottawa officials and Beacon Sports confirmed what we reported earlier this week: there will be no Class AA Eastern League team moving to Ottawa Stadium in 2013. The pair finally acknowledged what baseball insiders have known for weeks: that no one was seriously interested in buying the Binghamton Mets (Class AA; Eastern League) and moving […]
Peoria to spend $48 million on upgrading spring-training complex
Peoria (Az.) will spend $48 million on upgrading the spring-training complex for the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners as part of a lease extension running through 2034. Spring training has become a big business, with demanding — and receiving — first-rate complexes. The Peoria Stadium complex was considered state of the art when it […]
Loggers to underwrite UW-La Crosse program, renovate Copeland Park
In an unusual partnership, the La Crosse Loggers (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) will underwrite the UW-La Crosse baseball program and work together on fundraising for Copeland Park improvements. Finances has been an issue for the UW-La Crosse baseball program for years; the program was almost cut in 2009 and the coaches shifted to an unpaid […]
Groundbreaking scheduled for new Cubs spring facility
The groundbreaking for a new Chicago Cubs spring-training facility in Mesa, Arizona has been scheduled for July 11. The Cubs will share the new facility with the Arizona State baseball team. The new facility is slated to open on Dec. 1, 2013, in plenty of time for the 2014 college season. It will seat 15,000 (12,000 fixed […]
Pacifics, North American League season to proceed as planned after court victory
Opponents of an Albert Park lease for the San Rafael Pacifics (independent; North American League) lost their motion to boot the team, allowing the team and the circuit to proceed with the 2012 season. The Albert Park Neighborhood Alliance had argued the leasing of Albert Park by the Pacifics would violate the park’s original grant, which […]
SWB Yankees sold
It’s official: the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League) franchise has been sold to Mandalay Baseball Properties and the New York Yankees for $14.6 million. The sale was finalized this morning by the Lackawanna County Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority. The proceeds from the sale will immediately go toward the renovation of PNC Field, which could begin as […]
PNC Field renovation could begin Friday
Time is a-wastin’: the renovation of PNC Field, home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League), could begin Friday if a sale of the team is approved today. Last night Lackawanna County commissioners and the Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority held a public hearing to go over the $14.6 million sale of the SWB Yankees to Mandalay […]
Pacifics: Fate of NAL’s Northern Division rests on winning lawsuit
If an appellate court grants a request to boot the San Rafael Pacifics (independent; North American League) from Albert Park, the league’s Northern Division will shut down, according to Pacifics President Mike Shapiro in papers filed in court. The California First District Court of Appeal is hearing an appeal of a lower-court decision allowing the […]