Orioles ask for draft agreement from Indian River County for Dodgertown move
Posted June 5, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Baltimore Orioles would still prefer to stay in a refurbished Fort Lauderdale Stadium, but they are preparing a Plan B in case the Federal Aviation Administration doesn't relent on its demand for $1.3 million in annual rent for the property: they've asked Indian River County officials to prepare a specific draft lease for Dodgertown that will include an Orioles Florida State League team in Holman Stadium and a Ripken Baseball youth facility on the neglected former Dodgertown golf course. This doesn't mean the Orioles are ready to pull the trigger on a move -- indeed, this was described to us strictly as a Plan B move at the moment -- but it does indicate the Orioles think there's a decent chance the FAA will not decrease its rent demand. Elected Fort Lauderdale officials will be lobbying local and D.C. FAA officials for a reduction in rent in the coming weeks; negotiations for a Dodgertown move (which will be accompanied by a specific list of changes the Orioles want to see) will run at the same time. We've been told the Orioles have concluded that Fort Myers is out of the picture as a potential spring destination after a potential Red Sox move to Sarasota, but that's not stopped the Red Sox from trying to talk the Orioles into taking over their City of Palms Park lease, beginning in 2011; if the Orioles were to take over the lease, it would save the Red Sox the money of buying it out. Still, you never know; discussions between the two teams have taken place as recently as this week.
    RELATED STORIES: How bad does Fort Lauderdale want spring training?; Fort Lauderdale to fight FAA valuation of ballpark land; FAA to Orioles: Go away; Orioles looking for FSL team

College Baseball Digest relaunches
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Names like Bibb Falk, Dick Siebert and Jeff Ledbetter may not mean much to most casual baseball fans, but in the world of college baseball they’re as big as Casey Stengel, Sparky Anderson and Joe Torre are to MLB fans. The world of college baseball has a culture all its own, and that world is the focus of the relaunched College Baseball Digest, the only Website devoted to the totality of the college game, past, present and future.
    “A big goal for this site was to avoid the fantasy-baseball angle you find in so much college-baseball coverage,” said publisher Kevin Reichard. “College baseball is a whole lot more than just a feeder system for pro baseball. It has a culture all its own, filled with rich traditions and a colorful cast. Players come and go, but the culture of college baseball remains a unique part of Americana – and it’s our goal to present regular and timely coverage of what makes the college game so special.”
    Focusing on community – in this case, the culture of college baseball – is a formula that works for August Publications Websites, as Ballpark Digest is recognized as the leader in its focus on the greater baseball world (The New York Times called it “indispensable” last weekend), and Spring Training Online is the leading Web resource covering America’s traditional spring pursuit.
    “There’s no doubt college sports inspires a lot of passion among its fans and communities, and this relaunch helps us address that passion,” Reichard said. “We’re also working on a redesign of our Northwoods League site and have a college-venues site on the planning boards as well.
    “The move to the new publishing platform from Infinity Pro Sports allows us to offer a lot of things, like multimedia, RSS feeds and video, that today’s sports fans expect,” Reichard added. “But one thing we’ll never forget is that baseball is a game of stories, and telling the stories of college baseball will always be our focus.”

Final pieces fall into place for Normal ballpark
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Heartland Community College officially committed to spending $3.5 million on a new ballpark at a meeting last night, clearing the way for an ownership group led by Mike Veeck to begin planning and construction of a new $11 million ballpark for an independent Frontier League team. The college had been debating whether to build its own smaller ballpark and recreation complex or put the $3.5 million toward a pro ballpark and full use of it during the school year, and the decision was made to join in the pro project. The Veeck group will raise the rest of the money for the ballpark and the Frontier League franchise (though, notably, longtime Veeck partner Marv Goldklang is not taking an ownership stake), and the city of Normal will contribute infrastructure improvements. The ballpark is expected to open for the 2010 season.
    RELATED STORIES: Normal approves deal for Frontier League ballpark

MLB to literally roll out red carpet for 2008 All-Star Game
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Major League Baseball announced a historic series of activities for its All-Star Summer that will treat fans to a one-of-a-kind All-Star experience as New York City and Yankee Stadium host the Midsummer Classic in the final season of the baseball cathedral.
    As a gesture to the majesty and history of Yankee Stadium, MLB will conduct a special pre-game on-field ceremony prior to the 79th MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday July 15th that will feature the largest gathering of baseball stars in history.
    More than 40 Hall of Famers including Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Bob Feller, Whitey Ford, Willie Mays, Cal Ripken Jr., and Frank Robinson, are scheduled to be celebrated for their accomplishments in the most historic building in sports during its farewell season. The pre-game ceremony will begin at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) and will air live on FOX.
    The Hall of Famers will also be honored at the All-Star Game Red Carpet Parade, where they will join the American League and National League All-Stars in the longest parade ever hosted by MLB.
    The Red Carpet, which will span more than 95,000 square feet, will start on 40th Street and Sixth Avenue and travel up Sixth Avenue to 58th Street and Sixth Avenue.

Mariners deal with uproar over same-sex kissing at Safeco Field
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A little diplomacy at the beginning of the process probably would have saved the Seattle Mariners from dealing with a hailstorm of bad publicity after an usher asked two women to stop kissing at Safeco Field during a recent game after he received a complaint from a nearby fan. The women say they weren't doing anything other couple when on a date at ballgame, and the Mariners say they enforce the same standards for same-sex couples and straight couples at the ballpark when it comes to public displays of affection. Now, the only snarky comment we'll make will be to point out one of the women involved was a contestant on MTV's "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila," so it may be a case where there are some different interpretations of acceptable behavior going on here. In general, MLB has been pretty good about embracing the gay community, and teams have held gay-friendly events even after protests from right-wing activists. More from AP.

Council strikes down ballot measure designed to kill Rays ballpark
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Today will be an important day in determining whether the Tampa Bay Rays receive support for a proposed $450-million waterfront ballpark on the Al Lang Field site in downtown St. Petersburg, as the St. Pete City Council is reviewing proposed referendum issues related to the project. The day started well for the Rays when the council rejected a proposed referendum question that would have asked voters whether to limit development at the Al Lang Field site in a manner far more restrictive than the city's current zoning plan. The proposed referendum gained virtually no support from council members, who argued that making zoning and land-use issues a referendum issue was a dangerous precedent. This afternoon the council will debate another referendum issue related to the ballpark proposal.
    RELATED STORIES: Rays accelerate ballpark lobbying efforts, call in Selig; Rays propose small changes in ballpark design; Poll: St. Pete residents oppose new downtown ballpark; Parking key to new Rays financing plan; Rays unveil ballpark financing plan; Tampa Bay ballpark status: From simple to complicated in 30 seconds; St. Pete raises objections to Rays ballpark plan; Public: We want new Rays ballpark; Public responds to Rays' ballpark proposal; Rays sweeten pot for new ballpark with additional upfront money; Opposition to new Rays ballpark growing?; St. Pete newspaper: errors plague Rays ballpark debate; Proposal for Al Lang park land conversion tabled for Rays ballpark plans; City lays out vision for Tropicana Field site; So, let's say the Trop's for sale....; Opponents say Rays, manatees don't mix; Rays will not seek state aid for new ballpark; Rays brass willing to be stakeholders in Trop site; It's outta here! But what's next?; Parking for proposed Rays ballpark an issue; Key player in Rays ballpark proposal won't show his hand; Rays' land request for ballpark may be hard to fill; Rays unveil plans for new ballpark; Rays: New ballpark could pump $1 billion into local economy; Rays ballpark plan kept secret for months; Land under the Trop is a developer's dream; Tampa Bay ballpark cost looms as curveball; Rays on the bay?

Waukegan on the prowl for minor-league ball
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Waukegan (Ill.) officials are directing staff to explore a new minor-league ballpark near the city's downtown. The plan, as it's been described to us by city employees, calls for a new ballpark on the south side of downtown; the city could contribute the land, but a team owner or developer would construct the ballpark on their own dime. Waukegan has looked at a new ballpark several times in the last decade, but so far nothing has come close to fruition. The question is: Is Chicago saturated with baseball? We know groups regularly pop up to bring baseball to the greater Chicago area, but let's be honest: none of the Chicago-area minor-league teams, either independent or affiliated, are setting the world on fine; Kane County does well, but the Northern League and Frontier League teams in the area only do OK and have faced some serious issues in recent years. Can a Waukegan team do any better? One factor in its favor: We think there might be a pretty good shot at the city landing a Low Class A Midwest League franchise, as that circuit expects some shifts in upcoming years. We continue to hear the efforts are serious to bring a team to Dubuque, Iowa (with Clinton now the likeliest target for relocation), and we continue to hear the league will need to deal with the Beloit situation more sooner than later; there's a facility there not close to meeting PBA guidelines and minority owners who want to bail.

Rays accelerate ballpark lobbying efforts, call in Selig
Posted June 4, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Amid concern that a proposed $450-million waterfront ballpark on the Al Lang Field site in downtown St. Petersburg for the Tampa Bay Rays is in serious trouble, team owners made a pitch to local business leaders for support and called in MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to pitch the St. Petersburg Times on the merits of a new facility. A Times poll showed serious opposition to the new facility, and local business leaders have been silent on how they view the proposal. There's no doubt a new outdoor waterfront facility would be better than Tropicana Field both for fans (aesthetically speaking, the Trop isn't the most inviting of places) and for the team. Selig's pitch was pretty generic -- cities with new ballparks love them, and attendance at the Trop is pretty low considering how good the team is -- and so far there's no threat of a move or anything like that. Still, the threat the proposal could go down in flames is real.
    RELATED STORIES: Rays propose small changes in ballpark design; Poll: St. Pete residents oppose new downtown ballpark; Parking key to new Rays financing plan; Rays unveil ballpark financing plan; Tampa Bay ballpark status: From simple to complicated in 30 seconds; St. Pete raises objections to Rays ballpark plan; Public: We want new Rays ballpark; Public responds to Rays' ballpark proposal; Rays sweeten pot for new ballpark with additional upfront money; Opposition to new Rays ballpark growing?; St. Pete newspaper: errors plague Rays ballpark debate; Proposal for Al Lang park land conversion tabled for Rays ballpark plans; City lays out vision for Tropicana Field site; So, let's say the Trop's for sale....; Opponents say Rays, manatees don't mix; Rays will not seek state aid for new ballpark; Rays brass willing to be stakeholders in Trop site; It's outta here! But what's next?; Parking for proposed Rays ballpark an issue; Key player in Rays ballpark proposal won't show his hand; Rays' land request for ballpark may be hard to fill; Rays unveil plans for new ballpark; Rays: New ballpark could pump $1 billion into local economy; Rays ballpark plan kept secret for months; Land under the Trop is a developer's dream; Tampa Bay ballpark cost looms as curveball; Rays on the bay?

Cleveland, Kinston extend PDC
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The Kinston Indians (High Class A; Carolina League) and the Cleveland Indians have renewed their Player Development Contract, keeping the two clubs affiliated through the 2010 season. Cleveland and Kinston are currently enjoying their unprecedented 22nd year of affiliation.
    "Our relationship with the Kinston Indians is outstanding," said Ross Atkins, Cleveland’s Director of Player Development. "We are as happy as we could be; this relationship is one I see continuing for a long time."
    The affiliation between the Kinston and Cleveland Indians has enjoyed unprecedented success both on and off the diamond. Over the last fifteen complete seasons, Kinston has the highest winning percentage of any team in Minor League Baseball. Since the first year of affiliation in 1987 (21 complete seasons), the K-Tribe qualified for the Carolina League Playoffs 16 times, never missing the playoffs in back to back seasons. Currently, Kinston has made the Carolina League Playoffs seven straight years, the longest streak in Carolina League history. Kinston has won five Carolina League Championships and 11 Carolina League Southern Division Titles as a Cleveland Affiliate. Over the last four complete seasons the K-Tribe has won 336 games, the most in all of Minor League Baseball.

This week's podcast: Orioles struggle with larger-than-expected bill
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On this week's podcast: The Baltimore Orioles struggle with an unexpected bill from the Feds; the final days of Tiger Stadium are finally here; and a new ballpark is approved for Normal, Ill. Publisher Kevin Reichard and Senior Editor Dave Wright review the hot topics in the baseball and ballpark worlds in the weekly Ballpark Digest podcast. We've added the ability to listen directly to Ballpark Digest podcasts from the front page of the site: just click on the audio button in the box directly below this -- no need to load a media player or other software. The Ballpark Digest podcast has proven to be a popular feature of the site: according to the Feedburner stats it's been heard 12,940 (!) times via that service alone since Sept. 17, 2007. To directly subscribe to the feed using Firefox or Internet Explorer, go to this page and click on the "Subscribe Now" button. Comments are welcome. You can listen directly to the podcast on your own PC via this link (it's a standard MP3 file). More on Ballpark Digest podcasts here.

 

How bad does Fort Lauderdale want spring training?
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The South Florida Sun-Sentinel opined today that Fort Lauderdale would do just fine without spring training and that the city shouldn't make any special effort to retain the Baltimore Orioles. The status of the Birds came into play when the Federal Aviation Administration decided to charge the city $1.3 million annually for land used for Fort Lauderdale Stadium. While local politicos have scheduled meetings to attempt to overturn the FAA decision, it's hard to say if they'll succeed. Given the presence of the Marlins and spring training in Jupiter, it's hard to discern a lot of passion for the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale -- and given that other Florida cities may be hotter to lure the Orioles (Sarasota is actively seeking the Red Sox, Vero Beach already signed the Orioles to a Dodgertown option, and Auburndale officials have quietly been meeting with MLB teams about a potential site in that Polk County community), we're guessing next spring will be the last for the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale.
    RELATED STORIES: Fort Lauderdale to fight FAA valuation of ballpark land; FAA to Orioles: Go away; Orioles looking for FSL team

Storms cause damage to Applebee's Park
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The Lexington Legends (Low Class A; Sally League) are doing some damage control -- literally. The severe thunderstorms that blew through Lexington Tuesday morning handed Applebee’s Park its first experience with significant storm damage in its history, and the team is working to mitigate the damage.
    The damaging winds and heavy rains left the outfield fence mangled and several of the offices flooded Tuesday morning. Despite the damage left by the severe storm, the staff at Applebee’s Park has helped in the clean-up efforts to make the stadium and field safe for tonight’s game against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at 7:05 p.m.
    “Our entire staff and our vendors responded immediately to what could have been a catastrophe,” said Lexington Legends President and CEO Alan Stein about the clean-up effort at the ballpark.

Canaries to hold baseball marathon
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The Sioux Falls Canaries (independent; American Association) are throwing an unprecedented marathon of baseball that will feature games on the field at Sioux Falls Stadium for 48 straight hours from 7 p.m. on Friday, July 18 until the stroke of 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 21. The entire baseball marathon will be broadcast by Sioux Falls Canaries broadcaster Matt Meola.
    The 48 Hours of Baseball will feature three American Association baseball games between the Sioux Falls Canaries and Grand Prairie AirHogs, as well as 14 other games featuring teams from around the Sioux Empire.
    The additional weekend entertainment will include live bands, video games tournaments, and additional Canaries fun around the clock.

Sarasota to study economic impact of spring training
Posted June 3, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Sarasota City Council has hired Conventions, Sports & Leisure International to study the economic impact if the Boston Red Sox were to move spring-training operations into that city. We'd be very surprised if the study didn't show that Red Sox spring fans are a) unusually loyal, even when the team is down and b) willing to pay the inflated hotel prices Fort Myers hoteliers get away with each March. We'd also be surprised if the final report didn't give some councilors who are on the fence some ammunition to follow their gut and make an offer to the Red Sox of $70 million or so. Given that developers are showing a high level of interest in the city -- where the tax base is projected to shrink by $1.4 billion in coming years -- if the Red Sox move is will also be a heavy factor in a decision to extend a rather generous economic offer. We continue to hear Fort Myers officials would love to keep the Red Sox but have little in the way of economic firepower at the moment. More from the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
    RELATED STORIES: Sarasota pitches $70 million ballpark for BoSox; wants exclusive negotiating period; Fort Myers newspaper: Don't go nuts to keep Red Sox; Red Sox exploring spring-training move to Sarasota; Orioles looking for FSL team

Counting down the final days of Tiger Stadium
Posted June 3, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has missed a June 1 deadline to deposit $369,000 with the city of Detroit to save historic Tiger Stadium, so wrecking crews are scheduled to begin demolition this Friday. The group says it has some pledges and a potential $15 million in federal funds from Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), but so far the group has failed to raise enough money to keep the original Navin Stadium grandstand (which contains about 3,000 seats) and the playing field intact. The city will receive $300,000 if the entire ballpark is torn down (reflecting their portion of the proceeds of scrap metal) and nothing if it is partially town down. Now, missing the June 1 deadline might not be fatal -- really, the group has a few more days to make something happen -- but given the general antagonism shown by city officials toward any renovation of Tiger Stadium and the general apathy shown by the Detroit Tigers toward the project, it's pretty clear the writing is on the wall. Tiger Stadium is a prominent member of our Endangered Ballparks listings.
    RELATED STORIES: Will conservancy group meet June 1 deadline to save Tiger Stadium?; Tiger Stadium demolition OK'd; could baseball return?; Fans shell out $2 million for Tiger Stadium seats; Nonprofit submits plans for saving part of Tiger Stadium; Tiger Stadium auction a $192,729 home run; Online auction of Tiger Stadium memorabilia runs through October; A new vision for Tiger Stadium; Harwell heats up Tiger Stadium pitch; Harwell: I can save Tiger Stadium; Tiger Stadium to be torn down; Tiger Stadium demolition plan close to vote; Wreck the old park; praise the new one; Detroit City Council delays action on Tiger Stadium demolition; City: Revisit Tiger Stadium plans; Today's video: The final days of Tiger Stadium; Tiger Stadium plan hits a snag; Tiger Stadium's fate divisive; Tiger Stadium: Up for auction?; Tiger Stadium outta here by '08; Time running out for Tiger Stadium; Dave Wright: Time to let Tiger Stadium go; Razing memories of 95-year-old Tiger Stadium before demolition work begins; Final farewell planned for Tiger Stadium; Old house is hard to forget; Once a baseball cathedral, Tiger Stadium now sits in disrepair; Memories of Tiger Stadium; Tiger Stadium demolition delayed; Progress is in the ballpark; Developers didn't stand a chance with Tiger Stadium; Artifacts from Tiger Stadium to be auctioned off under city plan; Tiger Stadium to be razed: condos, retail to be built on historic site; Detroit should sell Tiger Stadium as is; Historical marker at Tiger Stadium stolen; Tiger Stadium would make fine vacation destination; 8 innings of words get us no closer to a Tiger Stadium fix; Documentary makes case for saving Tiger Stadium; Plenty of options for Tiger Stadium; Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick wants Tiger Stadium razed; Hope fades for Tiger Stadium; Detroit ignores calls to save Tiger Stadium; Save Tiger Stadium as scaled-down ballpark; City should tear down Tiger Stadium; Is it the final out for Tiger Stadium?

Rays propose small changes in ballpark design
Posted June 3, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
While we would hesitate to characterize this as damage control after a poll released over the weekend showed considerable opposition to the project, the Tampa Bay Rays released a set of changes to the ballpark design to address concerns raised by city leaders. The biggest change was to change the configuration of the $450-million waterfront ballpark on the Al Lang Field site in downtown St. Petersburg to accommodate the continued running of the Honda Grand Prix; the original design would have prevented the popular event from running near the ballpark. Other changes, including the addition of an underground parking ramp and not using space near the Mahaffey Theater for office and retail space, was designed to minimize the impact on the popular performing-arts complex. Now, none of these changes will necessarily win over many of the folks opposing the project. But it should help some with city leaders and opinion leaders, and it will let the Rays tell everything they're willing to be flexible to make the project work.
    RELATED STORIES: Poll: St. Pete residents oppose new downtown ballpark; Parking key to new Rays financing plan; Rays unveil ballpark financing plan; Tampa Bay ballpark status: From simple to complicated in 30 seconds; St. Pete raises objections to Rays ballpark plan; Public: We want new Rays ballpark; Public responds to Rays' ballpark proposal; Rays sweeten pot for new ballpark with additional upfront money; Opposition to new Rays ballpark growing?; St. Pete newspaper: errors plague Rays ballpark debate; Proposal for Al Lang park land conversion tabled for Rays ballpark plans; City lays out vision for Tropicana Field site; So, let's say the Trop's for sale....; Opponents say Rays, manatees don't mix; Rays will not seek state aid for new ballpark; Rays brass willing to be stakeholders in Trop site; It's outta here! But what's next?; Parking for proposed Rays ballpark an issue; Key player in Rays ballpark proposal won't show his hand; Rays' land request for ballpark may be hard to fill; Rays unveil plans for new ballpark; Rays: New ballpark could pump $1 billion into local economy; Rays ballpark plan kept secret for months; Land under the Trop is a developer's dream; Tampa Bay ballpark cost looms as curveball; Rays on the bay?

Gwinnett Braves unveil logo, will break ground today on new ballpark
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The Gwinnett Braves (Class AAA; International League) unveiled their logo yesterday, using a variation on a Sunday cap worn by parent Atlanta. Nothing too earth-shattering, but it does extend the Atlanta Braves brand to the northern suburbs. In other news, Gwinnett County officials and the Braves are holding a groundbreaking on the new ballpark today. Located in suburban Atlanta, the new $40-million ballpark is being designed by HKS and built by Barton Malow and is slated to open in April 2009. More renderings and information here.

Fort Lauderdale to fight FAA valuation of ballpark land
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Fort Lauderdale political leaders say they'll fight the decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to charge the city $1.3 million for the continued use of the Fort Lauderdale Stadium land as a spring-training site. The Baltimore Orioles want to renovate the ballpark and expand the spring-training facilities on land owned by the FAA. The FAA is willing to lease the land, but want to increase payments from the current revenue-sharing model (which yields yearly fees between $70,000 and $130,000) to what administrators say is the market value of the land, $1.3 million annually. It sounds like the Orioles would prefer to fight the valuation and work toward a renovated facility; the team has an option to move to Vero Beach's Dodgertown as well.
    RELATED STORIES: FAA to Orioles: Go away

Normal approves deal for Frontier League ballpark
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The Normal (Ill.) City Council approved a deal with Normal Professional Baseball LLC and Heartland Community College to build a new ballpark on the college campus for an independent Frontier League team. The terms: Heartland Community College will lease land and contribute $3.5 million to the project, the city would pay for infrastructure improvements and a parking lot (with the city controlling parking revenues), and the group led by Mike Veeck would contribute $7.5 million and actually build the ballpark, which will feature 3,500 fixed seats, room for 2,000 more in berm space and party areas, and eight suites.

Lehigh Valley making impact with logo, attendance
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We tend to think online logo contests are rather silly and a very cheap way to pump up meaningless page views, so we're not throwing one, but if we were we'd guess the logo for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Class AAA; International League) would do pretty well. The IronPigs are gaining some national attention for their logo and moniker, but perhaps more meaningfully the team seems to be doing pretty well at home, averaging 7,348 fans a game at Coca-Cola Park, putting the IronPigs third in league attendance (just a smidge behind Buffalo; both trail Louisville).

Teams unveil promotions tied to gas prices
Posted June 3, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
With gas prices approaching $4 a gallon in most parts of the country, it's no surprise the baseball world is capitalizing on the trend. The Wilmington Sharks (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League) started it all by setting the price of a general admission ticket to the price of gas in the Wilmington area and round it down to the nearest quarter. Therefore, if a gallon of gas is $3.73, a Sharks general admission ticket will cost only $3.50. The Fort Myers Miracle (High Class A; Florida State League) followed suit with a similar promotions that runs only on Monday nights: the cost of a general-admission seat is the same as the price of a gallon of gas, and that pricing is extended to hamburgers, cheeseburgers, beer and chicken sandwiches. Not to be outdone, the Minnesota Twins are discounting the price of a Upper Club or Lower Reserved seat by the price of a gallon of gas, if tickets are purchased through the team's Website. We expect other teams to offer similar discounts in the future.

MLB, BAM lose appeal of fantasy-baseball case
Posted June 3, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
In a case where the outcome was predicted by virtually every intellectual-property attorney worth their salt, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a case holding that player names, game information and stats cannot be copyrighted by Major League Baseball, giving fantasy-baseball leagues the right to offer that information to users without paying licensing fees. MLB, MLB AM and the Players Association had appealed two earlier court losses. In the past MLB had a licensing deal with pretty much anyone that came along, asking for 5-10 percent of revenues in exchange for stats and other support. (Not a bad deal, in retrospect, for MLB and BAM to monetize something they didn't own.) However, MLB AM put the squeeze on smaller fantasy players and attempted to limit the program to larger sites like Yahoo. In response, St. Louis-based CDM Fantasy Sports Corp. (with the support of the 150-member Fantasy Sports Trade Association) brought suit, saying that stats, game information and players names essentially were historical facts that did not have any intellectual-property protections. Two lower courts agreed. We will refer you back to our original coverage of the issue, where our analysis proved to be prescient: we predicted MLB and BAM would lose the case based on existing case law in three cases that were precisely on point. The first, Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Company, held that basic facts cannot be copyrighted. The second, NBA v. Motorola, held that game information cannot be copyrighted and upheld Motorola's right to broadcast NBA game information via pager and Internet. The third, Baltimore Orioles, Inc. v. Major League Baseball Player's Assn., held that broadcasts can be copyrighted but game performances cannot. And these were the cases the court cited in ruling against MLB and BAM. The legal strategy for MLB was always a little tenuous: they argued that the use of a player name was in essence an endorsement requiring a payment. We're a little surprised MLB appealed this all the way to the Supreme Court: they never even garnered a strong minority opinion in their favor (the dissenting judge in the appeal actually agreed with the basics of the majority opinion; he dissented on a procedural point, saying the fantasy-baseball vendors bringing suit should have fulfilled their existing deals before bringing suit), and asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn such strong precedents wasn't bold -- it was a waste of time and money and basically a stupid exercise in stubbornness. The irony is that baseball had a decent little licensing program in place before the decision was made to put the squeeze on the small guys and demand higher fees from the big players, and greed caused its downfall. MLB and BAM have a habit of asserting intellectual-property rights they don't actually own (i.e., their ill-fated legal attempt to wrest the Washington Nationals name from its rightful owners), and this was the latest example. More from the Wall Street Journal.
    RELATED STORIES: MLB wants fees from online fantasy leagues; Baseball statistics: history or property?

FAA to Orioles: Go away
Posted June 2, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
To say that the Federal Aviation Administration really wants the Baltimore Orioles out of Fort Lauderdale for spring training is probably an understatement, as the agency tentatively approved plans for an expansion of Fort Lauderdale Stadium -- if the Orioles and the city came up with yearly rent of $1.3 million per year, as opposed to the $70,000-$120,000 the pair was paying, based on a percentage of gross receipts. That price is absurdly expensive, tantamount to a $11 per ticket surcharge, and it reflects a decision by FAA administrators to rezone the land from park and rec to industrial. But the end effect is obvious: it will force the Orioles to drop its $38-million Fort Lauderdale Stadium renovation plan and shift spring operations somewhere else as early as spring 2009. The Orioles have an option to play at Vero Beach's Holman Stadium in Dodgertown as soon as next spring, and although the Orioles do have a contract to train at Fort Lauderdale Stadium in spring 2009, Mayor Jim Naugle says he wouldn't hold the team to it, given the circumstances. More from the Miami Herald.

Looking ahead
Posted June 2, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
For whatever reason this has been the most popular year ever for Ballpark Digest; we've done upwards of 53,000 individual users in a week, and our page views are at an all-time high. So this is as good a time as any to go into some of the new things we have on the drawing boards. We're almost at the end of the redesigns of NWLfan.com and CollegeBaseballDigest.com; our partner Infinity Pro Sports is wrapping up the new implementations, and they both should be live next week. After that will come the unveiling of the ArenaDigest.com redesign -- you can see a little tease of it here -- and that same model will serve as the basis of a redesign of Ballpark Digest this summer, as well as a new college venues site. We also have several other new sites to unveil between now and the end of the summer, and we're very excited about all of them. My travel schedule remains booked: I'll be at Tampa Yankees and Brevard County Manatees games next weekend, the College World Series on June 14 (drop me a line if you'd like to meet; we already have several meetings scheduled), the Midwest League All-Star Game on June 17, the Northwoods League All-Star Game on July 14, a special appearance at Modern Woodmen Park on July 17, and visits to Lehigh Valley, Southern Maryland and Washington, D.C. in August. So, with things going as well as they are, we want to thank each and every one of you for reading the site and taking the time to follow what we're doing. Special thanks go out to our regular advertisers -- Resnick Amsterdam Leshner, HOK Sport, Professional Sports Marketing, W.B. Grimes, Kimball Sports and Stewart Sports Group -- for their continued and enthusiastic support. --Kevin Reichard
    P.S. Hello to the New York Times readers making their way here for the first time. Thanks to the folks there for the kind words.

Normal ballpark to be considered tonight
Posted June 2, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
A proposed ballpark in Normal, Ill., for an independent Frontier League team will be considered tonight by the city council. A memo of understanding is on the agenda for the $11 million project. The numbers: Heartland Community College would lease land and contribute $3.5 million to the project, the city would pay for infrastructure improvements and a parking lot (with the city controlling parking revenues), and a group led by Mike Veeck would contribute $7.5 million. The ballpark will feature 3,500 fixed seats, room for 2,000 more in berm space and party areas, and eight suites.

Poll: St. Pete residents oppose new downtown ballpark
Posted June 2, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
An overwhelming majority of St. Petersburg voters oppose a new $450-million waterfront ballpark on the Al Lang Field site in downtown St. Petersburg for the Tampa Bay Rays: 68 percent are against it, according to a St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 poll. Interestingly, voters overwhelmingly want to see the issue put before them in a referendum, something the Rays want as well. We're a little surprised to see the number that high: normally ballpark funding plans will receive a good amount of opposition, but this one has an unusually high level of opposition, and the Rays do need to determine why people oppose it -- whether it's the funding plan or the site location.
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Split-venue doubleheader on the agenda this season
Posted June 2, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
It's been done twice before and was deemed a success both times, and it looks like the New York Mets and New York Yankees will do it again: play a day-night doubleheader, this time most likely on June 27, with a day game at Yankee Stadium and a night game at Shea Stadium. For MLB, it's a way to totally tie up the media for a week or so; for fans, it's an overabundance of baseball goodness. The makeup game was made necessary after a May 16 rainout in this season's Subway Series.

Additional communities step forward for West Chester ballpark
Posted June 2, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
A total of 11 nominations have been received by the Chester County Stadium Project Task Force, which is working on a preliminary plan for a proposed ballpark in the Philadelphia suburbs. The criteria was pretty minimal -- 13-16 usable acres -- and didn't include any talk of funding, so we're actually a little surprised more submissions weren't received. Big names like Trammell Crow and Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust were part of some of the submissions. This is still very early in the process; after a site or two are chosen the hard part -- funding -- becomes the issue. The goal is a 4,000-5,000-seat ballpark for an affiliated team; we continue to hear the NY-Penn League mentioned.

More concerts at Rapidz Stadium?
Posted June 2, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Given that the expansion Ottawa Rapidz already lead the independent Can-Am Association in average attendance with 3,105 a game, you can say the team's new owners have been doing a few things right. Now it looks like they'll have a chance to expand their empire with the addition of concerts to the mix. Rapidz Stadium is a good venue for live music in the Ottawa marketplace: only Scotiabank Place can hold a larger crowd like the 14,000-plus that showed up last summer to a Nickelback concert. Yes, there are the usual issues with neighbors and noise, but those can be addressed. More from the Ottawa Business Journal.