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January 6, 2009 |
Reno's Team?...Stay Tuned
With the Triple-A Sidewinders heading to Reno, what's to become of the Silver Sox
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Time could be growing short to catch professional baseball at Reno’s Peccole Park. The stadium’s not going anywhere, and you’ll still be able to catch University of Nevada games there, but with the current construction of a new downtown stadium and the move of the Tucson Sidewinders to Reno next season, what will become of the Silver Sox? While the Triple-A team offers a different experience than watching baseball in the independent Golden Baseball League, baseball fans will now have a choice. That really puts the Silver Sox future up in the air, at least in terms of playing in Reno.
The league has taken a wait and see approach. Even though proponents will tell you it is a done deal, and indeed all indicators suggest the Sidewinders will play the 2009 season in Reno, a number of skeptics still exist. Further, stadium construction, with a scheduled completion date of March 1, 2009 has very little room for delay. These variables are enough to keep the league from making any plans at this time. According to Kevin Outcalt, commission of the GBL, the league will reassess the situation in September or October.
The Silver Sox could very well use the move. Despite a very successful first season, attendance has slumped slightly. Further, while I can honestly say I like every ballpark I’ve ever visited, Peccole is no where near my list of favorites. It’s the artificial dirt that gets me. Some of the players have also commented it can take some getting used to, although I’ve never heard of anyone saying they don’t like playing on it. In case you’ve never been to Peccole, which I am guessing is most of you, the artificial turf isn’t just for the grass portion of the field, but includes brown colored turf along the base lines, which replaces what would otherwise be the dirt infield. Only the pitchers mound is genuine. For a unique experience, Reno’s existing pro stadium is a must see, but purist beware.
Already, speculation is running wild on where the Silver Sox might move, with newspaper reports of potential moves to Tucson or Carson City. Reno’s gain (in Triple A ball) could very well be a gain for some lucky city in California, as a number of sites in the state are potential locations for the Silver Sox. Here is my take on a few of the rumored options.
Stay in Reno – This might sound like a viable option, hoping the current fan base will stay strong, and maybe even playing off the excitement of baseball in Reno with the new Triple-A team. Unfortunately, it’s not. Reno may be the “biggest little city in the world”, but it’s that “little” part that works against it. In fact, Reno is too small to be a one team market if one of those teams is a Triple A team, let alone a two team market. The Reno-Sparks metropolitan area has only 410,000 residents, that puts it at less than half the size of Fresno’s (899,000) and a fifth the size of Sacramento’s (2,000,000) metropolitan areas. Tucson’s population (967,000) even dwarfs the Reno-Sparks area. Reno does get a lot of out of town visitors, and that could help with the new project downtown giving vacationers and convention goers alternatives outside the casinos, but most people won’t be going to Reno to catch a game. Anyone who does will be drawn to the new stadium downtown, not Peccole on the U of N campus.
Vacaville – Vacaville has a history of independent baseball moving out of new Triple-A cities. The Steelheads of the defunct Western Baseball League played one year in Sacramento before moving to Vacaville the year the River Cats came to town. Sacramento was probably a temporary stay to begin with as Sacramento City College, where the Steelheads played thier first season, didn’t allow alcohol sales, and the owner of the team already had plans to build a stadium for the 2000 season in Vacaville. That stadium, Travis Credit Union Park, is now vacant and awaiting a team. The venues in place, but a move to Vacaville could be risky. It was the financial problems of the Steelheads that helped propel the WBL out of existence, although those difficulties may have had more to do with the private funding of a new ballpark than with a lack of ticket and sponsorship revenue. A semi-pro team, the Thunderbirds, never really got off the ground. Nevertheless, if I had to place a bet – and since it is Reno’s team we are talking about, why not – I would put my money here. The venue is built, it’s close to large populations in the Bay Area (technically it is part of the Bay Area metropolitan area, at least statistically), and it has more than a few fans who miss the Steelheads.
El Centro – This is a name the league itself has been throwing around. The Yuma Scorpions played five games at the historic Stark Field, even donning the Imperials moniker, the last professional team to play there in 1951. No doubt, the GBL is interested in having a team there, but if at all possible, they would like to keep a second team in Northern California or Northern Nevada, if for no other reason than to build a rivalry with the popular Chico Outlaws. El Centro might be a spot for expansion, or even more likely a home for a team to play in its winter league, but don’t expect the Silver Sox to move in unless no other option presents itself.
Newark – Also a name the league itself has been throwing around. The GBL, with headquarters in the Bay Area, desperately wants a team in the Bay Area. Why not, San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland combined represent the second largest market in the West, and they already have two teams in the largest (Los Angeles area). The real problems is finding a suitable venue. Discussions are ongoing for a new stadium on the campus of Ohlone College, with the GBL even offering to pay for part of it, but no plans are imminent. Unfortunately, the current facilities wouldn’t work for professional baseball. That could make Newark a “maybe someday” destination.
Victoria, BC – Plans are in motion to bring a third, possibly even a fourth Canadian team into the league. Victoria is the most talked about place for an expansion team, with plans already underway to bring a team to Vancouver Island for the 2009 season. The league wants to expand, and if Victoria makes a reasonable expansion site, why move in an existing team if other options (including staying in Reno) are available.
Tucson – Wanted…professional baseball team to play when all the big leaguers are out of town. Tucson Electric Park has a seating capacity of 10,000, which might make the 1,000 or so fans that typically show up to a GBL game seam pretty sparse. More likely, the GBL would opt for a smaller stadium, so University of Arizona’s Frank Sancet Stadium with a seating capacity of 6,500 comes to mind. Of course, this would mean forming a partnership with the university, not always an easy task. The real question is would a town that is used to seeing big leaguers play in more intimate settings every Spring Training catch on to unaffiliated independent ball. Much of the charm of the independent leagues (as well as affiliated minor leagues) is seeing players up close and personal, especially former big leaguers, or maybe even future big leaguers. Tucson already gets a taste of this but with players alreay in The Show. Independent baseball, no matter how big a fan of the game you one might be, might just be a little too ho-hum for this crowd.
Carson City – The facility rumored to be used (at Western Nevada College) doesn’t have the capacity the GBL would be looking for. More importantly, it is within easy driving distance of Reno, which makes fans here more likely to visit the new Triple-A team.
So, stay tuned. We will report once we know.
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Outstanding blog and I have had some of the same thoughts about where the Sox could move. I have always liked Vacaville. The problem is the cost. The area is highly desired as you can see by all the building around it. A team would have to make a lot of money to do well there and the GBL doesn't do that. I think the privately owned teams are a lot more honest with their attendance and when you look at OC and STG, you see that not a lot of people come to games even in a geographically isolated place (STG) or one that has a lot of "star power"(OC). I have always complained about the advertising but at the end of the day it is about money. People like to be part of something cool or exciting and most won't give indy ball a chance thinking it is bush league. Most Indy teams just break even so they have to be creative. Right now, only OC is doing it and you see how slow the process is. So the Sox need to go to a more lucrative market and work on brand recognition to succeed.