The Seattle Mariners are upgrading concessions at Safeco Field once again; the team that brought us ballpark sushi and the Ichiroll is bringing in three celebrity chefs to upgrade Bullpen Market food offerings in 2011. Centerplate, the team’s concessionaire, has hired national celebrity chefs Ethan Stowell, Roberto Santibañez and Bill Pustari to oversee new food […]
Archive | Major-League Baseball
Could Oakland bar A’s from moving?
An interesting legal theory is making its way through the Bay Area: that a clause in the Athletics’ lease for Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum could be used as a tool to keep the team in Oakland — at least long enough for a sale of the team or a San Jose deal to cool. Here’s the […]
Cal budget issues could alter San Jose, Oakland plans for A’s ballpark
A proposal by Gov. Jerry Brown to shut down California‘s 425 redevelopment agencies could have a huge impact on the Oakland Athletics, as both San Jose and Oakland are planning on using redevelopment funds to help pay for a new ballpark. Both cities are planning on using a redevelopment agency as a base for the […]
Cards unveil latest plans for Ballpark Village
It’s not quite as large as originally proposed, but the fact that the St. Louis Cardinals are actually moving ahead with a Ballpark Village development adjoining Busch Stadium when financial times are bad and the credit markets tight says a lot about the ownership’s perseverance. Here’s the current plan. The plan, as presented by reps […]
Beware folks peddling simple solutions to complex problems
Ken Rosenthal and Scott Boras say the solution to the financial issues faced by the Oakland A’s is simple: MLB should just let the team move to San Jose. But, alas, the solution isn’t all that simple, and the issue is considerably more complex than just appeasing Lew Wolff: it goes to the very financial […]
Phillies go HD with new scoreboard
Philadelphia Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park will see one huge improvement for the 2011 season: the original left-field scoreboard will be replaced with a snazzy high-definition scoreboard from Daktronics. The Phillies and Daktronics made the announcement today for a new light-emitting diode (LED) HD video display much larger than the former video display at […]
Remembering the Polo Grounds
It wasn’t the most glamorous venue in the major leagues, nor the most stylish. But the Polo Grounds — the former home of the New York Giants and, briefly, the New York Yankees and New York Mets — will receive its due this weekend, as the San Francisco Giants and Willie Mays will bring the […]
Could Cards, Marlins leave Treasure Coast?
The lease at Roger Dean Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins expires in 2017, but before committing to an extension the teams want protection that they’re not the last two teams left standing on the Treasure Coast for spring training. Roger Dean Stadium is surely the center of the busiest ballpark complex […]
Baseball world hit by Arizona shootings
One casualty of yesterday’s tragic shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Tucson: Dallas Green’s granddaughter, Christina-Taylor Green, was shot and killed as she was waiting in line to meet with the congresswoman. Nine-year-old Green was described as an aspiring politician, recently elected to her student council. She was shot at the event and […]
BoSox scrap bullpen renovation plans: no tax credits
The Boston Red Sox scrapped plans to expand the right-field bullpens and bring in the home-run fences at Fenway Park after the Massachusetts Historical Commission determined the changes did not quality for tax breaks for federal historic rehabilitation work. The Red Sox had proposed widening the bullpens by nine feet to improve safety for players […]
Exploring the roots of spring training in Florida
We’re now in full-blown preparations for spring training. The roots of spring training are still a little cloudy, but we’ve run across a newspaper article documenting Henry M. Flagler‘s efforts to bring spring training in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1890 — complete with an illustration of the ballpark. The article appeared in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated […]
O’s: Ed Smith Stadium renovations right on schedule
Renovations to Ed Smith Stadium, the spring-training home of the Baltimore Orioles, are proceeding right on schedule and should be done in plenty of time for the team’s March 1 Grapefruit League 2011 debut. For those attending past spring-training games in Sarasota — whether it be when the Chicago White Sox or Cincinnati Reds were […]
Dodgertown signs come down
Another milestone with a tinge of sadness: All the old Dodgertown signs came down this week in Vero Beach, as the branding of Vero Beach Sports Village by Minor League Baseball continues. The former spring-training facility of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Los Angeles Dodgers now carries the Vero Beach Sports Village branding and logo […]