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 […]
New for 2012: Yuma Panthers
The Yuma Scorpions are no more, as owners of the independent North American League team are rebranding the franchise as the Yuma Panthers. The announcement came when team ownership in the form of Godfather Media executives met with the local press and outlined their plans to take the team public. Godfather Media already trades over the […]
El Paso group seeking downtown ballpark, T-Padres
An El Paso investment group is looking at building a privately financed ballpark in downtown El Paso and buying the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) for relocation. The group, as outlined in today’s El Paso Times, would be taking advantage of Escondido, Cal., to close on funding for a new ballpark after the […]
Comerica Park, Michigan Stadium to host ’13 Winter Classic
The chatter was true: Michigan Stadium and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, will both host games at the 2013 NHL Winter Classic. The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved a lease of the historic football stadium today for Dec. 1, 2012 until mid-January 2013; the NHL will pay $3 million for it […]
Chiefs extend Alliance Bank Stadium lease; will look at buying ballpark
The Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International League) negotiated a new lease for Alliance Bank Stadium that gives them an option to buy for $3.05 million — a deal that seems destined to happen. Onondaga County had put management of the ballpark, as well as its downtown arena, up for bid and attracted five offers. At […]
Squirrels ask Richmond community for help in new-ballpark quest
The Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League) are asking for community input on funding a new ballpark on The Boulevard via an advocacy group, Ballpark Nutz. The group, which exists mainly as a Facebook page at the moment, was set by the Squirrels management to help move along the dialogue about a new ballpark […]
Wilmington to move forward with ballpark talks
The Wilmington (N.C.) City Council voted to move forward with negotiations on a new downtown ballpark for an Atlanta Braves farm team during its Tuesday night meeting. Per the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) unanimously passed, the city will exclusively negotiate a new ballpark development plan with Mandalay Baseball Properties and the Atlanta Braves over the […]
Approval for McKechnie Field renovations expected this week
An $8-million renovation plan for McKechnie Field, home to the Bradenton Marauders (High Class A; Florida State League) and spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, could be approved this week by city and county governments. The redesign of the classic ballpark calls for a reconfiguration of the seating bowl, with two distinctive seating areas replaced […]
Economic impact of Frozen Fenway: $28.8M
Here’s another argument for northern MLB and MiLB teams to construct hockey rinks in the dead of winter: the economic impact of Frozen Fenway, the winter extravaganza in Boston, was a cool $28.8 million. The Red Sox installed an ice sheet on the Fenway Park field and scheduled various high school and college hockey games […]
Lee County pitches Nats on spring-training move
Lee County officials are once again pitching Washington Nationals brass on a move to the vacant City of Palms Park, but there are no plans yet for the team to shift from Viera’s Space Coast Stadium. The information comes from Lee County Commissioners pursuing another MLB team for spring training. How much serious interest there […]
Braves reveal new alt home uniforms
The Atlanta Braves today unveiled a new alternative home uniform patterned after the 1966 team uniforms. The cream-colored uniforms feature the traditional Braves script in red across the chest minus the tomahawk, red numbers on the front and back, navy piping, navy player letters and a new logo patch on the left sleeve. The logo […]
Wilmington to discuss new Braves ballpark tomorrow night
A proposed Wilmington (N.C.) ballpark will be on the agenda for the City Council tomorrow night, though there will be no vote on the plan. Specifically, according to the city Website, the council will discuss: Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding with Mandalay Baseball Properties, LLC (MBP) and the Atlanta […]
North American League eyes Prescott
Mark Peterson, managing director of Strategic Pathways and former CFO of the Phoenix Coyotes, is in talks to bring an independent North American League team to Prescott’s Ken Lindley Field. The proposal isn’t new — Peterson pitched Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall last summer on his idea to place a team at the classic WPA ballpark […]