Burlington Athletic Stadium due for upgrades
Burlington Athletic Stadium, home of the Burlington Royals (rookie; Appalachian League), will see some upgrades this season and next. The ballpark is historic: it was originally built in Danville and then transformed piece by piece to Burlington, opening in 1960. It sat unused for many years while Miles Wolff worked to bring in pro baseball; […]
Group pitches new downtown Hamilton ballpark
A new ballpark costing up to $10 million for the Hamilton Joes (summer collegiate; Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League) has been proposed by city leaders. The tentative proposal has the ballpark, which would be financed via a nonprofit, constructed on the former Champion Paper plant in the city’s downtown. A scrap-metal firm has bought the […]
Beer returns to Bluefield’s Bowen Field
The Bluefield Blue Jays (rookie; Appalachian League) are once again selling ballpark beer at Bowen Field, but some residents are unhappy with the decision. Beer is a major revenue source for any Minor League Baseball team, and the decision by the Blue Jays to stop selling it certainly impacted the bottom line. And, even in […]
Bunning: Cubs best argument to eliminate MLB antitrust exemption
The sale of the Chicago Cubs to the Ricketts family — despite higher bids from the like of Mark Cuban — is a great argument for eliminating MLB’s antitrust exemption, according for former U.S. lawmaker Jim Bunning. Bunning is also a former MLB pitcher, so he’s seen the business of the game from all sides. […]
Why are Rock Cats moving to Hartford? Follow the money
A potential rise in revenues to $8.1 million annually is a big reason why the New Britain Rock Cats (Class AA; Eastern League) are moving to a new downtown Hartford ballpark. A study from Brailsford & Dunlavey, submitted to the team and city in February, estimated that a move to the larger Hartford could boost […]
New Niagara Can-Am franchise holding name-the-team contest
The independent Can-Am League is expanding to Welland (Ontario) next season, and the team is running a name-the-team contest to mark the occasion. The team is playing at Welland Sports Stadium, former home to the Welland Pirates (short season A; NY-Penn League) from 1989-1994. The ballpark features a main concourse area that is covered and […]
Office Space night a smash at the Duck Pond
It’s hard to imagine a promotion having this level of impact (literally): the Madison Mallards (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) held an Office Space promo where fans were allowed on the field to smash their balky printers and scanners. Office Space, of course, is the classic 1999 movie where a group of rebellious programmers and developers, […]
AquaSox, Mariners extend player-development contract
The Everett AquaSox (short season A; Northwest League) and the Seattle Mariners have extended their player-development contract (PDC) through the 2016 season. The agreement was finalized Friday morning. The AquaSox play their home games at Everett Memorial Stadium, located in Everett, Wash. Seattle and Everett are fewer than 30 miles apart. “We are pleased to […]
Jose Canseco hits ballparks this summer — via RV
This is a pretty good idea: Jose Canseco will be traveling the continent via RV to appear at charity events and various minor-league/summer-collegiate ballparks under the Home Run Tour banner. The tour, put together by Jose Melendez and crew at New World Sports Management, will begin next week and run for over two months, as […]
Virginia Beach Neptunes unveil logos
We have the new nautical-themed logos for the Virginia Beach Neptunes (independent, Atlantic League), set to begin play in 2015. The team has been given permission to build a $25-million ballpark/youth baseball project with a 6,000-seat ballpark and 25 tournament fields, subject to financing for the project. —- Share your news with the baseball community. […]
A’s close to lease extension; Wolff confirms interest in new Coliseum-area ballpark
With the Oakland Athletics on the verge of signing a new ballpark lease, managing partner Lew Wolff reiterated his conditional interest in building a new ballpark in the Coliseum area. The 10-year lease is pretty standard: the A’s took control of Coliseum concessions (with Ovations contracted to provide them) and will continue that arrangement, but […]
Introducing Soccer Stadium Digest
We have another company announcement today: now live is our newest professional-sports website, Soccer Stadium Digest. Yesterday we announced the launch of a history project with the NY-Penn League (thanks for all the positive comments on that project by the way — yes, we are also excited!) and hinted at further announcements. More are on […]
Shockoe Bottom businesses: Bring back ballpark plan
A group of Richmond Shockoe Bottom businesses are asking the city to reconsider a development plan that includes a new Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League) ballpark. Their reasoning is simple: they see the plan as a way to bring development investment into Shockoe Bottom while at the same time moving forward a memorial […]