The Portland Sea Dogs (Class AA; Eastern League) will mark a big milestone tomorrow: the 20th anniversary of the team’s arrival at Hadlock Field. The team will mark the occasion with some pomp and circumstance, including appearances from popular Sea Dogs of the past. The 11 players/ manager expected to attend represent every Sea Dogs […]
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Warner Robins puts off ballpark feasibility study
A study to determine the feasibility of a new pro ballpark in Warner Robins, Ga., was tabled because city councilmembers wanted to see more information about exactly what is being studied. Local businessman John Hughes offered to perform the ballpark feasbility study on his own dime (they ususually cost between $15,000 and $20,000). However, the […]
Ottawa revamps ballpark funding plan
Realizing the original lease proposal for a Class AA Eastern League team was totally unrealistic, Ottawa city officials are looking at raising more money locally for Ottawa Stadium upgrades. The original deal, hammered out by the city and Beacon Sports, called for a team to invest millions to upgrade the ballpark to Double-A standards, with […]
4D theater pitched for Modern Woodmen Park
Quad Cities River Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League) owner Dave Heller wants to add another attraction to Modern Woodmen Park a “4D” theater to go alongside a new Ferris wheel and other carnival attractions. A “4D” theater is a small attraction seating 16 or so patrons and uses moving seats and other special effects […]
El Paso City Hall goes down, making way for new ballpark
El Paso’s City Hall was imploded yesterday by a series of detonations, as the city takes down a landmark of sorts to make way for a new Triple-A ballpark. The 34-year-old building took about 10 second to collapse after the charges were detonated. A crowd of 100 or so was on hand to see the […]
Mayor to pitch Blue Jays on charms of Ottawa Stadium
With the prospects of pro baseball returning to Ottawa dimming daily, Mayor Jim Watson is heading to Toronto to meet with Blue Jays officials about their interest in putting a team in Canada’s capital. Watson has led an effort to bring a team to Ottawa Stadium and brokered a deal with Beacon Sports on a […]
Politician: New Huntsville ballpark unlikely
A city councilman representing the Joe Davis Stadium area says it’s unlikely a new ballpark would ever be built for the Huntsville Stars (Class AA; Southern League), as the existing facility is more than adequate. The discussion came up after Birmingham opened a sparkling-new ballpark last night; the natural in-state rivalry was a little hard […]
SeaWolves, city spar over new batting tunnel
It may not sound like a big deal to fans, but something like this is increasingly important to teams and leagues: the Erie SeaWolves (Class AA; Eastern League) and the city are sparring over what league president Joe McEacharn calls “unacceptable.” The issue: when the city renovated Erie Insurance Arena, it removed the exiting batting […]
Mandalay Baseball Properties on the block
Mandalay Baseball Properties, a major owner of Minor League Baseball teams, is for sale, as investor Seaport Capital is selling its share of the Mandalay holding company. Manaday owns the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Class AAA; International League) with the New York Yankees, the Erie SeaWolves (Class AA; […]
And they’re off!
It’s opening day for full-season Minor League Baseball leagues, with fans flocking to ballparks across the country to see their favorite teams in action. Well, most ballparks, anyway. Bad weather caused some games in the East to be cancelled — Richmond, Norfolk, West Virginia, Memphis, Gwinnett — and fans certainly bundled up in other cities. […]
Another year, another big ‘Topes check to city
The Albuquerque Isotopes (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) did it again: ownership will pay $1,521,967.02 to the City of Albuquerque at city-owned Isotopes Park, in the annual ceremony of handing over a check on Opening Day. The payment will be made at tonight’s season opener. The payment represents the basic rent sum plus surcharge amounts […]
Alomar, Martinez, Metkovich this year’s PCL Hall inductees
Sandy Alomar Jr., Edgar Martinez and George “Catfish” Metkovich are the Class of 2013 in the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame. Sandy Alomar Jr., born on June 18, 1966, in Salinas, Puerto Rico, played in parts of four seasons in the Pacific Coast League with the Las Vegas Stars (San Diego Padres,1988-89), Colorado Springs […]
Isotopes install baseball humidor in Albuquerque
At the request of parent Los Angeles Dodgers, the Albuquerque Isotopes (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) have installed a baseball humidor for the 2013 season in an effort to keep more balls in the ballpark. It’s no secret that the ball flies out of Isotopes Park: the numbers don’t lie. It’s also no secret that […]