Ottawa would seem to be a great market for affiliated baseball, but issues with the ballpark — and the fairly high cost of bringing it up to modern standards — may end up killing any relocation efforts. More than one MiLB owner directly told us they’d passed on a plan to move an Eastern League […]
Tag Archives | ottawa stadium
Beacon makes it official: No Ottawa EL team in 2013
Ottawa officials and Beacon Sports confirmed what we reported earlier this week: there will be no Class AA Eastern League team moving to Ottawa Stadium in 2013. The pair finally acknowledged what baseball insiders have known for weeks: that no one was seriously interested in buying the Binghamton Mets (Class AA; Eastern League) and moving […]
Fisher Cats, Blue Jays extend PDC
As expected, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Class AA; Eastern League) and Toronto Blue Jays extended their PDC through 2014, as hopes of a Jays Double-A team in Ottawa fade to black. Toronto has been New Hampshire’s Major League parent club since the Fisher Cats began play in Manchester in 2004. “We are very pleased […]
Blue Jays expected to re-up with New Hampshire
The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to extend their PDC with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Class AA; Eastern League), as hopes for an Ottawa Eastern League team fade fast. Kevin Gray reports on the love between the Jays and the Fisher Cats. No surprise here: the Fisher Cats front office is one of the […]
Ottawa continues push for Double-A ball
Organizers in Ottawa continue their drive to show support for a Class AA Eastern League team moving to Ottawa Stadium with a new promo aimed toward businesses and nonprofits. Champions for Ottawa Baseball will today announce a program that goes past an existing season-ticket sales push in an attempt to bring in some corporate money. The […]
Local group launches season-ticket drive for Ottawa baseball
A local group, Champions for Ottawa Baseball, has launched a season-ticket drive for a Class AA Eastern League team in 2013, invoking the name of the Toronto Blue Jays in the process. The group, which counts Mayor Jim Watson among its members, is asking 2,500 baseball fans to put down $25 on deposit for a […]
Ottawa ballpark will sport artificial turf — per request of parent team?
A Class AA Eastern League team in Ottawa will reportedly play on artificial turf based on the request of its future parent team — though there’s no team there yet and no parent team on tap. Gerald Sheehan, chief financial officer for Beacon Sport — the investment firm working on a plan to buy an […]
Ottawa committee approves $5.7M in ballpark improvements
We’re another step closer to affiliated ball returning to Ottawa, as a city finance committee today approved $5.7 million in spending on renovations to Ottawa Stadium for the 2013 season. The full Ottawa City Council is expected to approve the spending plan next Wednesday. Beacon Sports, a Boston-based finance firm, has been negotiating with the […]
Blue Jays GM: We’re not shifting affiliation to Ottawa
Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says his team has no plans to shift Double-A affiliation to a new Ottawa team — but the statement means less than you think, considering he’s contractually obligated to say this. National Post baseball writer John Lott caught up with Anthopoulos after it was announced a Double-A Eastern League […]
It’s official: Eastern League to Ottawa in 2013
The reports were true: Conditional upon various baseball approvals, we should see the move of a Class AA Eastern League team to Ottawa Stadium for the 2013 season. Boston-based Beacon Sports has been negotiating a 10-year lease for Ottawa Stadium, the former home of the Ottawa Lynx (Class AAA; International League). The ballpark would be […]
Report: Eastern League team to Ottawa in 2013
An as-yet-unnamed Eastern League team will be moving to Ottawa Stadium for the 2013 season if a memorandum of understanding is completed, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The team, to be owned by Boston-based Beacon Sports, will play at a refurbished Ottawa Stadium. The city will pay for $6 million in ballpark updates, with the […]
Ottawa puts off ballpark decision
It matters less than what some Ottawans assume, but there’s been a month delay in deciding whether a Class AA Eastern League team will be playing at Ottawa Stadium in 2013 and beyond. The original plan was to decide this month on a bid for a Class AA Eastern League team to begin play at […]
Ottawa baseball bid losing steam?
The schedule for a city-designed bidding process for Ottawa Stadium is reportedly slipping, as the push to bring an Eastern League club to the Canadian capital may be slowing down even further. We noted last month that a prime topic of chatter at the Winter Meetings was a lack of progress in bringing a Double-A […]