Given that it’s almost August and there’s no ballpark financing in place, much less ground broken on a new facility, it’s increasingly looking like the Southern League won’t be arriving in Biloxi until 2015. True, there’s been a lot of work on the project behind the scenes: the city has solicited bonds to pay for […]
Archive | Minor-League Baseball
Generals eye field upgrades for 2014 season
The Jackson Generals (Class AA; Southern League) are proposing upgrades to the playing field at the Ballpark at Jackson, including a total replacement of the playing field. The outfield turf dates back 16 years, when the ballpark opened. From the Jackson Sun: Monday’s doubleheader against the Mississippi Braves was postponed due to unplayable field conditions, […]
Trenton on verge of welcoming 8-millionth fan
The Trenton Thunder (Class AA; Eastern League) expect to welcome the 8-million fan in franchise history tonight during a doubleheader against the Altoona Curve. The first of two seven-inning games starts at 6:05 p.m., with gates opening at 5:05 p.m. The Thunder’s eight millionth fan will receive a prize package that includes: A luxury suite […]
RailRiders exceed 2011 attendance
Big milestone for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Class AAA; International League): the team has already drawn more fans to PNC Field than in all of 2011, before ballpark renovations began. A crowd of 7,294 yesterday pushed the team past the 2011 total. The team played on the road last season while the ballpark was being renovated. […]
Lugnuts no-hit for the third time this season
We can’t determine if it’s a record, but it’s darned close: the Lansing Lugnuts (Low Class A; Midwest League) were no-hit for the third time this season on Wednesday night. The no-hitter came against the Clinton Lumberkings, as Victor Sanchez (2-4), an 18-year old out of Venezuela, allowed just three baserunners in the entire game. […]
Triple-A All-Star Game a big hit
With a sold-out ballpark and a solid game experience, the Reno Aces (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) won plaudits for their hosting of the Triple-A All-Star Game earlier this week. We heard from plenty of front-office folks about the great time they had in Reno, and that experience was apparently echoed in the stands. From […]
Ballpark Preview: New El Paso Ballpark
With the final bureaucratic hurdles cleared and a budget of $60.8 million finalized, it’s time to turn to the most interesting part of a new El Paso Triple-A ballpark: the design. You may know the backstory: El Paso businesspeople, in the form of MountainStar Sports Group, bought the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) […]
Kane County set to welcome 10-millionth fan
The Kane County Cougars (Low Class A; Midwest League) will be the first Class A team to attract 10 million fans in team history when the milestone is reached, weather willing, on Saturday night. Welcomed at the gate by Cougars General Manager Curtis Haug and Ozzie T. Cougar, the 10 millionth fan will be showered […]
Forbes: Placing a value on MiLB teams
Forbes Magazine has released a estimate of Minor League Baseball franchises values, with the Sacramento River Cats topping the list with a calculated worth of $38 million. The top ten teams and their valuations: Team Valuation Sacramento River Cats (PCL; AAA) $38 million Round Rock Express (PCL; AAA) $35 million Lehigh Valley IronPigs (IL; AAA) […]
Can Tucson bring back pro baseball?
With the impending departure of the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), local officials are debating what can be done to bring back minor-league baseball or spring training to the city. Current T-Padres GM Mike Feder is optimistic about a possible return of Minor League Baseball to Tucson: “The only way of getting baseball […]
Crawdads hosting 2014 Sally League All-Star Game
The Hickory Crawdads are hosting the 2014 South Atlantic League All-Star Game at L.P. Frans Stadium on Tuesday, June 17th. This marks the third time the Crawdads have hosted the game. “On behalf of the ownership group we look forward to hosting the 2014 South Atlantic League All-Star Game in Hickory,” said Crawdads owner Don […]
Fredericksburg: We have five weeks to negotiate Suns lease
With Fredericksburg officials setting a time limit of five weeks to negotiate a better ballpark deal with the Hagerstown Suns (Low Class A; Sally League), we’ll know soon enough whether the team is on the move. The stance from Fredericksburg officials is pretty simple: they want to see the team pony up more for a […]
Fredericksburg: We need better deal from Suns
After a marathon session featuring passionate folks pro and con, the Fredericksburg City Council voted to seek a better deal from the Hagerstown Suns (Low Class A; Sally League) on a new-ballpark deal. The proposal has the city financing the $29.5-million project with team rent, increased property taxes in the ballpark area, ticket surcharges and […]