Elkhart revives ballpark plans
Put aside because of the bad economy two years ago, a plan for a new ballpark in Elkhart, Ind., for a summer-collegiate Northwoods League team is back on the table. The plan for a $12-million, 2,000-seat ballpark originally featured $5 million in public funding from Elkhart County, but it was suspended in 2010 because of […]
Warner Robins puts off ballpark feasibility study
A study to determine the feasibility of a new pro ballpark in Warner Robins, Ga., was tabled because city councilmembers wanted to see more information about exactly what is being studied. Local businessman John Hughes offered to perform the ballpark feasbility study on his own dime (they ususually cost between $15,000 and $20,000). However, the […]
Ottawa revamps ballpark funding plan
Realizing the original lease proposal for a Class AA Eastern League team was totally unrealistic, Ottawa city officials are looking at raising more money locally for Ottawa Stadium upgrades. The original deal, hammered out by the city and Beacon Sports, called for a team to invest millions to upgrade the ballpark to Double-A standards, with […]
Morgantown ballpark bill dies in leg; hopes of revival this week
A bill authorizing a TIF district to fund a new ballpark for West Virginia University and a NY-Penn League team died when the West Virginia Legislature adjourned Saturday night, but proponents hope to bring it to a vote in an upcoming special session. The bill died not because there was a large number of legislators […]
4D theater pitched for Modern Woodmen Park
Quad Cities River Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League) owner Dave Heller wants to add another attraction to Modern Woodmen Park a “4D” theater to go alongside a new Ferris wheel and other carnival attractions. A “4D” theater is a small attraction seating 16 or so patrons and uses moving seats and other special effects […]
Atlantic League eyes Fort Worth’s LaGrave Field
Peter Kirk says the independent Atlantic League is looking at putting a team in an upgraded LaGrave Field in Fort Worth. From Jim Seip: Architects that work with ODP have looked at the stadium and believe the shell of LeGrave Field can be saved and used after a renovation/addition has been completed to bring the […]
Cubs, Chicago agree on Wrigley Field updates
The Chicago Cubs and the city of Chicago reached an agreement on a series of Wrigley Field upgrades that will add signage and more night to the historic ballpark, as well as a new parking ramp to placate locals. The agreement, which had been in the works for weeks, will allow the Cubs to add […]
Bob Gibson statue unveiled at Werner Park
A statue of Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, the pride and joy of Omaha, was unveiled at Werner Park, home of the Omaha Storm Chasers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League.) A passel of baseball luminaries was on hand to honor the former St. Louis Cardinals great, including MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, former teammates Joe Torre […]
El Paso City Hall goes down, making way for new ballpark
El Paso’s City Hall was imploded yesterday by a series of detonations, as the city takes down a landmark of sorts to make way for a new Triple-A ballpark. The 34-year-old building took about 10 second to collapse after the charges were detonated. A crowd of 100 or so was on hand to see the […]
Kendrick pooh-poohs Dodger Blue in Chase Field suite
Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick asked fans to remove their Los Angeles Dodgers gear while occupying a high-profile suite behind home plate at Chase Field, saying it violated ballpark guidelines. No, we’ve never heard of an MLB team prohibiting fans from wearing their team colors after spending thousands of dollars for seats. But the Diamondbacks […]
MLB launches task force to address paucity of minorities in baseball
Recognizing that it may take more than just fixing up some inner-city baseball fields to attract minorities to the sport, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig appointed a task force to address the lack of diversity in professional baseball. There are plenty of areas where folks other than white men are underrepresented: there’s certainly a shortage of […]
Atlantic League: Get the lead out!
The independent Atlantic League is implementing rule changes this year in an attempt to address a perennial concern: speeding up baseball games. We’ve written about the rule changes before; now that the season is imminent, it’s a good time to review them. The York Dispatch’s John Walk has a nice piece on the changes, complete […]
RailRiders: We’ve already exceeded 2011 ticket sales
Nice milestone: the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Class AAA; International League) have already exceeded 2011’s number of tickets sold, with over 300,000 ducats purchased for PNC Field’s inaugural season. “This is a solid first step for our team and demonstrates our community’s interest in restoring our baseball games to the top of the list for fun, affordable […]