All Pro Freight Stadium lands Great Lakes League All-Star Game
News about another summer-collegiate All-Star Game: All Pro Freight Stadium, home of the Lake Erie Crushers (summer collegiate; Frontier League), will host the 2012 Great Lakes League All-Star Game. The Lake Erie Monarchs and Stark County Terriers are co-hosts of the July 11 event. “We are very excited to hold our All Star event in […]
New ballpark on tap for Abilene
In announcing the addition of the Abilene Prairie Dogs to the independent North American League lineup, team ownership announced efforts were underway to procure a new ballpark for the 2013 season. It’s not the first time Byron Pierce and John Bryant have fielded a team in Abilene; they owned the Abilene Prairie Dogs in the […]
Harwich lands 2012 Cape Cod League All-Star Game
The Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game is returning to a league ballpark, as the 2012 game is slated to be played at Whitehouse Field, home of the defending league champs Harwich Mariners. Harwich was chosen by vote of the Executive Committee during a special meeting Thursday night. It will be the first All-Star […]
New for 2013: Regions Field
Regions Bank will keep its naming-rights deal with the Birmingham Barons (Class AA; Southern League), as the team’s new downtown ballpark will be known as Regions Field when it opens in 2013. The Barons had a naming-rights/branding deal with Regions Bank at their current home, Regions Park in suburban Hoover. That relationship will continue at […]
Pacifics headed to jail
The San Rafael Pacifics (independent; North American League) will be playing one of the more unusual exhibitions ever: in May they’ll be playing an All-Star squad of San Quentin State Prison inmates. San Quentin State Prison baseball coach Kent Philpott issued the invitation; the game is set for May 19, 2012. The game will serve […]
American Association: We’d be interested in Hoover team
Commissioner Miles Wolff says the independent American Association is interested in placing a team at Regions Park, set to be vacated in 2013 by the Birmingham Barons (Class AA; Southern League). The Barons are set to move to a new downtown ballpark for the 2013 season, assuming construction goes smoothly. That would leave Regions Park, […]
State: Provident Bank Park could end up costing taxpayers $60 million
The New York Comptroller’s Office says Ramapo (N.Y.) taxpayers could be on the hook for $60 million to pay off Provident Bank Park, not the projected $39 million. The ballpark is the home of the Rockland Boulders (independent; Can-Am League). Financing for the ballpark has been embroiled in controversy since day one. Voters initially rejected […]
Looking back at 125 years of New Orleans baseball
It’s been 125 years since the first pro baseball game was played in New Orleans — and in that time some great players and managers have worn the uniforms of the Pelicans and Zephyrs. That first pro game was played in 1887 by the New Orleans Pelicans, a team that became a mainstay in the […]
Pfander new GM in Charlotte
Jim Pfander is the new general manager of the Charlotte Stone Crabs (High Class A; Florida State League), exiting his previous job as executive vice president/COO of the Akron Aeros (Class AA; Eastern League). The Ohio-native began his career as a broadcasting and special events intern for the Cleveland Indians, followed by his first minor […]
River Bats to be made over for 2012 under new ownership
The new owners of the St. Cloud River Bats (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) say they’ll make over the franchise with a new name and new colors while paying back rent on Joe Faber Field. Gary Posch and Joe Sexton, owners of a local auto dealership and investors in the Willmar Stingers (summer collegiate; Northwoods League), […]
Solar power on agenda for Kauffman Stadium
A solar array — the largest in the major leagues — has been installed at Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, with the capacity to generate 36,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. That’s enough electricity to power four average houses in a year. The ballpark uses much more electricity than that, of […]
Outlaws negotiating return to Chico in 2012; Abilene in NAL
The Chico Outlaws (independent; North American League) and Chico State have exchanged 2012 lease terms for Nettleton Stadium, but so far the two sides have not reached an agreement. The Outlaws sent in a proposed lease that reportedly calls for lower rent and payments for use of the ballpark; the counterproposal from the university basically […]
Charlotte may help fund new Knights ballpark
With it increasingly apparent that private financing isn’t possible for a new Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) ballpark, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County are exploring public financing. Any public money would not cover the entire cost of constructing a new ballpark in Charlotte’s Uptown area; past cost estimate have come in at $56 million, but […]