Jackie Robinson’s legacy will be honored today throughout Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball, with teams planning onfield ceremonies and one high-profile MiLB game played at Dodgertown. Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier in 1947, and teams will commemorate the 67th anniversary with onfield, pregame ceremonies in MLB ballparks, including a special celebration featuring the […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Nats: No active selling of Nationals Park naming rights
Selling naming rights can be tricky business, and even though naming rights to Nationals Park may be at a peak valuation, principal owner Mark Lerner says there’s no active sales effort in place. When Nationals Park opened, the naming-rights market was in the toilet. Since then, the team has made an effort or two to […]
Twins, Pohlad company developing area west of Target Field
The area west of Target Field, already being developed as a transit hub, will also sport an amphitheater, retail, a parking ramp, public spaces and potentially a hotel under a deal struck by Hennepin County, the Minnesota Twins and United Properties. United Properties is a privately owned commercial real-estate development and investment firm owned by […]
Lashbrook: Hillsboro could temporarily host relocating Oakland A’s
If the Oakland Athletics were to leave the Coliseum for Portland, Hillsboro Ballpark — home of the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League) could serve as a temporary home, according to Lynn Lashbrook. Lashbrook, president of Sports Management Worldwide, took a tour of the 4,500-capacity ballpark and proclaimed it could be expanded to the […]
MLB sets spring-training per-game attendance record
We have a new attendance record for spring training, as MLB teams attracted 8,078 fans per game over 447 games played, surpassing a record set in 2008. In fact, attendance in 2014 pretty much shattered the old record of 7,793 fans per game and far outpaced last year’s total of 7,527 fans per game. The […]
Developer emerges for new Braves ballpark project
There’s power in being the last firm standing, as a consortium led by Pope & Land Enterprises and Fuqua Development is the frontrunner to land the $400-million development deal at the new Atlanta Braves ballpark site. The site in suburban Cobb County was chosen by the Braves and county officials both for its freeway location […]
Lovely night for baseball in Denver
We were at Coors Field last night to take in the many improvements there carried off in the offseason by the Colorado Rockies. What a great night! We’ll have a full report tomorrow; the game went long and we’re waiting for a flight back to Madison. Let’s just say for now the Rooftop is one […]
Cactus League attendance up in 2014
With Cubs Park packing in the fans, Cactus League per-game attendance was up in 2014, although the total attendance was slightly down because of fewer game days. Overall, 1.68 million fans attended Cactus League games, according to Cactus League officials. That’s less than the 1.73 million fans attending Cactus League games in 2013, but there’s […]
Target Field grass ready to go — with serious snow on the way
Minnesota Twins head groundskeeper Larry DiVito says the turf at Target Field is ready for play, barring any serious snow — but some serious snow is in the Minneapolis-St. Paul five-day forecast. To say April baseball at Target Field is a challenge is an understatement, especially in a year where winter has stubbornly persisted despite […]
Dress code at Cards’ Ballpark Village drawing attention
A dress code at the Ballpark Village bars set to open this season next to Busch Stadium have drawn all sorts of negative attention for potentially being discriminatory against African-Americans. The dress code applies to the eight bars in the complex, with some additional rules applying to the Budweiser Brewhouse. Some of the dress codes […]
Montreal preps for return of MLB; Carter to be honored
The return of Major League Baseball to Montreal in the form of Blue Jays/Mets exhibitions should be an emotional one this weekend, with the late Gary Carter — who starred for both the Expos and the Mets — to be honored. About 75,000 tickets have been sold for the two weekend exhibitions games. (Organizers are […]
Alliance protests Braves ballpark public funding
An alliance of 12 groups is protesting Cobb County spending on a new Atlanta Braves ballpark, arguing commissioners have not been open about where taxpayer money is committed to the project. The Atlanta Braves plan a new 2017 Cobb County ballpark and will be financing most of the project on their own. Cobb County has […]
New for 2014: The $25 D-Bat Dog
Another gutbuster is making its way to an MLB ballpark this season: The Arizona Diamondbacks will be selling the $25 D-Bat Dog, a deep-fried 18-inch corn dog delight. The Diamondbacks were already pushing the envelope in terms of high-calorie dogs at Chase Field, but the D-Bat Dog is just on this side of acceptable of […]