A 2012 opening for a new Clark College ballpark for the relocating Yakima Bears (short season A; Northwest League) is in serious doubt after Clark County officials scaled back their financial commitment to the plan. At a work session last week, the county commissioners walked away from a funding plan where the Bears would pay […]
Tag Archives | northwest league
Ricketts: Boise’s Memorial Stadium is substandard
Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts may have done the Boise Hawks (short season A; Northwest League) a huge favor by coming to the Treasure Valley and ripping Memorial Stadium as being a substandard facility. Ricketts was in town to review the Hawks operations and speak to the Boise Chamber of Commerce. He was pretty pointed […]
Boise as Triple-A market? There’s talk
With all the talk about a new ballpark in downtown Boise, one small detail didn’t get much attention: business leaders want to consider building a Triple-A ballpark. Here’s why it’s a good idea. A year ago we argued that Boise would be a good destination for the then-relocating Portland Beavers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), […]
Competing ballpark plans in Portland
We have a second ballpark plan emerging in suburban Portland, as Milwaukie (Ore.) officials are working with a former PGE Park vice president on a 4,000-seat ballpark for a short-season A Northwest League team. The plan from Milwaukie calls for 4,000-seat, $20-$30 million ballpark to be built on the Portland-Milwaukie light-rail corridor at a a […]
New Portland-area ballpark could provide economic bump: study
A new ballpark in Clark County for the relocating Yakima Bears (short season A; Northwest League) could generate $206.5 million over a 20-year lease, according to a study commissioned by the Columbia River Economic Development Council. The study indicates the Bears would generate $4.6 million annually from the Bears via ballgames and other events, $4 […]
Boise ballpark search to focus on downtown site
The search for a new Boise Hawks (short season A; Northwest League) ballpark site by local business leaders will focus on downtown Boise, as a third feasibility study will compare potential sites for review by the city and the team. The group of local business leaders, Better Boise Coalition, unveiled their plan yesterday. It’s pretty […]
Boise in search of new ballpark site
Yet another baseball study is underway in Boise, as the Better Boise Coalition will embark on a search for an appropriate location for a new Boise Hawks (short season A; Northwest League) ballpark, but there’s really one obvious location: downtown. The Hawks have been playing at Memorial Stadium since it opened in 1989, a rather […]
Memorial Stadium / Boise Hawks
It might have been a stunner when opened in 1989, but Memorial Stadium, home of the Boise Hawks (short season A; Northwest League), is now coming dangerously close to being an outdated professional facility, as the team is seeking a new ballpark after concluding it’s not worth renovating the old place. FAST FACTS Year Opened: […]
Volcanoes benefiting from Bevos departure
Baseball fans in Portland, Oregon without a local fix have turned to a local short-season team, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (short season A; Northwest League), for their diamond fix: attendance at Volcanoes Stadium is up some 27 percent this season. “I know we’re seeing a lot more Portland area people this year because I’ve been talking […]
Clark County reverses course; will exclusively negotiate with Bears
Upon further review, the three-person Clark County (Wash.) Board of Commissioners will exclusively negotiate the terms of a new ballpark with the Yakima Bears (short season; Northwest League) ownership, Short Season LLC. The decision was split — two commissioners for, one commissioner against — and it’s pretty clear the commissioner against, Tom Mielke, will be […]
Clark County passes on exclusive negotiations with Bears; opposition to new ballpark rises
A move by the Yakima Bears (short season; Northwest League) is by no means a sure thing as Clark County passes on signing a exclusivity agreement and some residents say they don’t want a new ballpark in their neighborhood. Clark County is located opposite Portland, Oregon on the Washington State side of the metro area. […]
Bears to exclusively negotiate new ballpark with Clark County
The Yakima Bears (short season; Northwest League) entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement with Washington State’s Clark County on Friday for a new ballpark, increasingly the likelihood the franchise will be moving across the state to the greater Portland area. The agreement, fairly standard when two sides think there’s a good chance a final agreement […]
Funding plan emerging for new Clark County ballpark
The Yakima Bears (short season; Northwest League) would be asked to pay 30 percent of the cost of a new $23-million ballpark at Clark College, as Clark County officials float the idea of a new countywide amusement tax to pay for the rest. The 5 percent tax would apply to all amusement firms in the […]