Join us at the Winter Meetings!
The Winter Meetings and Baseball Trade Show is hitting Disney World this week, and we’ll be there. If you’re planning a visit as well, we’d love to see you. The place to be is Disney World for the annual Baseball Winter Meetings and Trade Show, held in the Disney World Swan & Dolphin complex. It’s […]
Did Cards’ sale violate its profit-sharing agreement with the city?
When city taxpayers gave the St. Louis Cardinals tax breaks for building the new Busch Stadium, a provision gave St. Louis a share of any profits arising from any sale of the team. Since then about 13 percent of minority shares have been sold, but the city has seen no revenue from the transactions — […]
Joliet approves Steel City Baseball lease for Silver Cross Field
The pieces are almost all in place for Steel City Baseball to field an independent Frontier League team in Joliet’s Silver Cross Field, as the City Council approved a 10-year lease; John Dittrich will be GM of the new effort. Yesterday was a big deal for Steel City Baseball, headed by local resident Alan Oremus, […]
Steel City Baseball Club LLC buys Joliet assets
Steel City Baseball Club LLC has closed on a purchase of the lease to Joliet’s Silver Cross Field and other physical assets held by the owners of the Joliet JackHammers (independent; Northern League), clearing the way for a new independent Frontier League team to play there next season. The city will consider a new lease […]
Main Street Baseball buys High Desert Mavericks
Main Street Baseball, the owner of the Quad Cities Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League), is adding another team to its portfolio after closing on a purchase of the High Desert Mavericks (High Class A; California League) from Bobby Brett and Brett Sports. Terms of the deal were not released. Main Street Baseball is owned […]
Intimidators unveil new alternate logo
The Kannapolis Intimidators (Low Class A; Sally League) unveiled a new alternate logo that features the visage of the late Dale Earnhardt, a former minority owner of the franchise. “In looking over ways to continue to enhance our partnership with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and the Dale Earnhardt Foundation, we thought this new alternate logo was […]
Joliet to enter Frontier League if lease approved
A new Joliet team could be entering the independent Frontier League for the 2011 season if the city on Monday approves a sale of the Silver Cross Field lease from the current Joliet JackHammers (independent; Northern League) ownership. The city is expected to debate a sale of the lease to a group led by Alan […]
Bernie Robbins Stadium in state of disrepair
That didn’t take long: Two years after the Atlantic City Surf (independent; Can-Am League) ceased operations, Bernie Robbins Stadium is now in a serious state of disrepair, with copper stripped from walls and luxury boxes trashed. The Press of Atlantic City took a tour of the former indy-ball ballpark and found the place to be […]
The Week That Was: Nov. 28
New uniforms and logos, independent-baseball shifts, a possible return to Ottawa for affiliated ball and ballpark renovations were in the news this week. The most popular stories on Ballpark Digest for the past week, as measured in page views. Altoona Curve unveils new look, logos, colors Group says it’s ready to play in Omaha; MECA […]
Cost of running The Trop for St. Pete: at least $7.3M annually
Besides the $6 million in annual debt service, it costs the city of St. Petersburg at least a million more annually to host the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Explain to us again why the city is so eager to keep the Trop and block the Rays from a new ballpark, because the existing […]
Affiliated ball may be returning to Ottawa
The Toronto Blue Jays are working with a local group to bring affiliated baseball back to Ottawa Stadium, the former home to International League and Can-Am League baseball. College Councillor Rick Chiarelli has been working with the Jays on identifying a team to purchase and move. The Ottawa Citizen says it’s a “top” farm team […]
Padres raise ante in Escondido ballpark negotiations
Jeff Moorad and crew have agreed to several financial concessions regarding a new Triple-A ballpark in Escondido, Cal., but there’s a good chance the city will be seeking more before they go ahead with a $50-million facility. The basics of the deal are the same — the city would borrow money to build the ballpark […]
Lackawanna County issues RFQ for PNC Field redesign
Lackawanna County has issued a Request for Proposals/Qualifications for the architectural redesign of PNC Field, the home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (Class AAA; International League), with an opening of 2013 in mind. The deadline is Dec. 13, at noon. You can view the RFQ here in PDF form. Philadelphia’s Ewing Cole has been a design […]