Lew Wolff will reportedly move ballpark site close to BART line, scrap Ballpark Village concept.The Oakland A’s are looking at moving the site of a proposed Fremont ballpark closer to a planned BART stop, as team officials seem reconciled to dropping a master plan for 3,000 townhouses and apartment units surrounding and basically financing the […]
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O’s face opposition in Sarasota spring plan
Baltimore wants a new spring-training ballpark; Sarasota officials want to renovate Ed Smith Stadium.The Baltimore Orioles and Sarasota County have reached an impasse in negotiations for the team’s potential move to Sarasota — and the impasse is very serious, causing the Orioles to send Cal Ripken Jr. to the Gulf Coast city yesterday in an […]
Wilpon: Citibank deal is here to stay
One report pegs the worth of the 20-year naming-rights deal at $500 million, not the $400 million previously reported.With Citibank’s naming-rights deal for the new Mets ballpark increasingly under fire, Jeff Wilpon used a press tour of Citi Field as an occasion to defend the financial giant and maintain the deal will not be scrapped. […]
Rascals bring back peanut-free section for ’09
The team will partner with a local group to promote the special section.If you have a kid in elementary school, you know how many children today suffer from nut allergies. That’s what makes the ongoing offering of a peanut-free section by the River City Rascals (independent; Frontier League) so important: despite the massive amount of […]
Can Citibank afford Mets naming-rights deal?
With Citibank shares plunging 22 percent yesterday and management announcing a suspension of dividends, whispers in the financial community say Citi may not be able to pay off Mets naming-rights deal.In the end, it may not be public outrage that kills Citibank’s naming-rights deal for the new New York Mets ballpark: it may be the […]
“Old” Yankee Stadium expected to come down in April
The team still hasn’t totally moved out of Yankee Stadium, delaying construction of youth baseball fields on the site.The New York Yankees are still occupying the former Yankee Stadium, delaying the demolition of the facility until April, in what’s expected to be a year-long process. The delay is also causing a delay in the construction […]
Tiger Stadium preservationists: We have the money
The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy says they have the $12 million needed to preserve the Navin Field grandstand at Tiger Stadium.The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy says they have the $12 million needed to preserve the Navin Field grandstand at Tiger Stadium. In a pitch today to the Detroit City Council and previously to the Detroit […]
E-Mail: City officials worked hard for free suite at Yankee Stadium
The Bloomberg Administration was so eager for a Yankee luxury box it traded away 250 parking spots and three billboards.A perk of financing a new ballpark for city officials is the long-term use of a luxury box. It’s a given. But what happens when the city doesn’t actually fund the new ballpark? In the case […]
Bright House Field / Philadelphia Phillies / Clearwater Threshers
When you replace a classic Florida State League ballpark, your new home had better be damned impressive. Ballparks fans shed a tear when the Phillies decided to replace Jack Russell Stadium with a new ballpark, but the replacement — Bright House Networks Field — is such a great facility, you’ll find yourself rarely yearning for […]
Drip, drip, drip: criticism of Mets, Citibank deal continues
Complaints continue to roll in about Citibank receiving U.S. bailout and then reaffirming its commitment to spend $400 million on Mets naming-rights deal.Complaints continue to roll in about Citibank receiving U.S. bailout and then reaffirming its commitment to spend $400 million on Mets naming-rights deal. Now, it’s not to the point where either corporation is […]
Marlins ballpark delayed until 2012
The Florida Marlins say legal challenges forced them to delay the opening of their new ballpark. Legal challenges to funding of a new Florida Marlins ballpark has forced the team to delay its opening for a year, to 2012. The decision came after team officials met with Hunt/Moss regarding construction timelines. That’s not a surprise: […]
Task force to evaluate Portland ballpark proposal
Mayor-elect Sam Adams puts together an 18-member group to study the potential move of the Portland Beavers to a new ballpark.Mayor-elect Sam Adams and Commissioner Randy Leonard are putting together an 18-member task force to study public financing of a plan to build a new ballpark for the Portland Beavers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) […]
Will Citibank naming-rights deal backfire on Mets?
Some pundits are already calling the new home of the New York Mets "Bailout Field."This is probably not the publicity the Wilpon family wanted to see as the New York Mets ramped up to their replacement for Shea Stadium: Their biggest financial partner is in the midst of a public debate over the appropriateness of […]