A rather breathless and inaccurate report in the Ottawa Citizen has some locals excited about the possible return of pro baseball to the Canadian capital. The report, which you can read here, has one central fact correct: Mandalay Baseball Properties and Professional Sports Catering officials did indeed visit Ottawa Stadium near the beginning of the […]
Tag Archives | ottawa
Ottawa deal far from certain: owners
After Ryan-Sanders Baseball walked away from a deal to bring a Class AA Eastern League team to Ottawa, a broker tries again to find a potential owner — but with the economics of the deal on the daunting side, that’s not an easy task. There has been plenty of folks willing to look at the […]
Ottawa less than a done deal?
A sharp-eyed reader pointed us to a newspaper column by Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson that seems to suggest plans to bring a Class AA Eastern League team to Ottawa may not be as firm as previously thought. From the Ottawa Citizen: We are also working with the private sector to revitalize an important asset in […]
Akron to look at ballpark upgrades to keep Aeros in town
Akron officials are looking at upgrades to Canal Park to keep the Akron Aeros (Class AA; Eastern League) in town after the team’s lease expires in five years. The upcoming sale of the team apparently has unsettled officials; though the team was not a candidate to move to Ottawa in 2014, there was enough ill-informed […]
Eastern League to Ottawa in 2014, says city
Beacon Sports has brokered a deal to bring a Class AA Eastern League team to Ottawa Stadium for the 2014 season, according to a release sent out by the city. The release: Today, Mayor Jim Watson announced that the City of Ottawa has reached an agreement in principle with Beacon Sports Capital Partners for a […]
Will affiliated ball return to Ottawa?
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 […]
The Week That Was: May 27
Success in Pensacola, Dodger Stadium problems, fence dimensions and affiliated ball in Ottawa: The most popular stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. Blue Wahoos: Success means ballpark upgrades Freedom Baseball League begins play New Astros uniforms: Bring back the orange! Charges dropped in Dodger Stadium beating Marlins: No […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Week That Was: Feb. 12
The top stories on Ballpark Digest this week, as measured by page views: spring-training arrivals and potential new MLB homes; franchise shifts in Hagerstown, Ottawa and Wilmington; and more on hockey at the ballpark. Lee County pitches Nats on spring-training move Blue Jays considering grass field at Rogers Centre Braves reveal new alt home uniforms […]