The austerity package embraced by the New York Mets may have helped stem the losses from Citi Field operations, but debt still looms for a franchise looking at another sub-.500 season. In a filing with New York City Industrial Development Agency, which issued the construction bonds for the ballpark, the Mets released a partial picture […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Dodgers unveil plans for sharpest scoreboards in majors
The Los Angeles Dodgers are installing the sharpest videoboards in the majors — a full high-def 1080p — in Dodger Stadium for the 2013 season, with the assistance of ANC Sports Enterprises. They will be the first 10mm 1080p surface mount light-emitting diode (LED) displays in baseball. The new scoreboards will be in both right […]
Oakland, Mesa reach final agreement on HoHoKam Park move
It’s close to official: the city of Mesa and the Oakland A’s have reached agreement on a lease for HoHoKam Park beginning in 2015, subject to approval from the City Council on Monday. The deal calls for at least $20 million in renovations for the current spring home of the Chicago Cubs, slated to move […]
Populous awarded Twins spring-complex design project
The contract to design upgrades to Lee County Sports Complex and Hammond Stadium, spring home of the Minnesota Twins, has been awarded to Populous. The Lee County Board of Commissioners approved the deal with Populous to design the $42.5 million renovation. The ballpark also serves as home to the Fort Myers Miracle (High Class A; […]
Searching for Italian sausage in Cedarburg UPDATED!
After a heavy night of barhopping, the Italian sausage outfit used in Milwaukee Brewers promotional sausage races has turned up missing, with cases of mustard offered as a reward. The costume of Guido the Klement’s Racing Italian Sausage was announced missing by owner Klement’s, the Milwaukee purveyor of fine meat products. It was rented out […]
Progress on new A’s ballpark? Not likely
San Jose baseball fans were all atwitter with a report that there might be progress on a new Oakland Athletics ballpark in Silicon Valley, but the report was probably not as newsworthy as first assumed. Bill Shaikin reported last week that the A’s were in possession of guidelines from Major League Baseball that must be […]
Cards add cowboy bar to Ballpark Village; renderings released
A little bit of cowboy is slated to be part of the St. Louis Cardinals’ Ballpark Village in 2014, as Professional Bull Riders will unveil PBR St. Louis: A Cowboy Bar. The cowboy bar joins an Anheuser-Busch brewpub/beer garden, the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum and Cardinals Nation bar (complete with rooftop bleachers) as anchor attractions […]
Joker Marchant Stadium, Tiger Town set for dramatic overhaul
Joker Marchant Stadium and Tiger Town will undergo a series of dramatic improvements beginning in 2014, under a $50-million plan unveiled by the Detroit Tigers and the city of Lakeland. The complex is the spring-training home of the Tigers, while the ballpark hosts Tigers game as well as Lakeland Flying Tigers (High Class A; Florida […]
New and old for 2013: Tradition Field
It’s back to the future for the New York Mets and the St. Lucie Mets (High Class A; Florida State League), as their Port St. Lucie facility will revert back to a familiar name: Tradition Field. Tradition Florida held naming rights to the ballpark from 2004-2009. After a naming-rights deal with Digital Domain fell through […]
Politico: Let Rays look throughout region for new ballpark after paying fee
A St. Petersburg City Council member says the Tampa Bay Rays should be allowed to talk to other cities in the region about a new ballpark — but only after paying a $1.4 million fee, and without assurances the current Tropicana Field lease could be ended. The fee wouldn’t allow the Rays to leave the […]
Marlins Park: The gift that keeps on giving
Not only did Miami-Dade County agree to a Miami Marlins ballpark financing plan that will end up costing taxpayers over a billion dollars, the project ended up coming in under budget — with the Marlins pocketing the savings. Well, maybe not pocketing. But the fact is the Marlins and not the county will benefit from […]
More football slated for Wrigley Field
Football is returning to Wrigley Field, as the Chicago Cubs and Northwestern University are expected to announce the scheduling of future games as well as an expansion of a business relationship between the pair. Renovations to Wrigley Field over the next few years are expected to allow for some field reconfigurations, which would give the […]
Ballpark Village construction to begin in February
Better late than never: the groundbreaking for the Ballpark Village project, next to Busch Stadium, is set for Feb. 8, as the St. Louis Cardinals and Cordish Cos. are ready to move ahead. Ballpark Village, envisioned as a multi-use retail/office/entertainment complex, didn’t open when Busch Stadium did, as the floundering economy forced the team and […]