Midwest League News

Credit to Ballparkdigest.com for digging these up.

Deadline nears for moving Snappers to LaPrairie

The deadline is December 29. Maybe a late Christmas for the Snappers?

Bill Watson, president of Mulder Dairy Farms Inc., is more committed than ever to making sure a land swap deal with the county goes through.

“If the Board of Supervisors think we are on the right track, we are going to make sure it happens and nothing on the face of the earth will stop it from happening,” Watson said. “If the supervisors support us and we make the trade, we are going to get this thing built without using public dollars.”

If a recently submitted proposal makes it past the Rock County Board, the Beloit Snappers could move from Pohlman Field to the I-90 corridor in the Town of LaPrairie. Watson is offering three pieces of land totaling 346 acres located near the Highway 11/Interstate-90 ramp in return for the 421 acres of Rock County farm land on the north side of Janesville. In addition to a new baseball stadium, the land would be used for a new Rock County fairgrounds, according to the proposal. Ken Hendricks, owner of ABC Supply in Beloit, has proposed a racetrack similar to the Rockford Speedway for the site.

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Watson still maintains the deadline can't be extended. If it extends past the calendar year, Watson said the MDF won't have the $7 million to contribute.

“We went through great pains to work out business arrangements and tax considerations to make the offer we did. We never thought it would cause any controversy,” Watson said. “We thought the project would have such great benefit. We thought it was a slam dunk and it was just like we kicked a hornets' nest.”

Rock County Board Chair Richard Ott, like some of the other supervisors, is concerned that the deadline is too quick to make a decision on such a complex process. Although Watson understands the supervisors concerns he said if the deadline is not met MDF won't be able to put extra money in the transaction.

“Unfortunately we don't have any control whatsoever over the calendar year deadline,” Watson said.

Somebody needs to work on their sports metaphors. Watson thought the project would be a "slam dunk". Next time, try "home run", "grand slam", or "free pass".

And did he really think that a complicated land swap involving a county board and millions of dollars and a baseball team wouldn't be just a bit controversial?

Swing suitor receives good marks on report

The company planning to buy the Swing of the Quad-Cities is financially healthy, has never had a lawsuit or lien filed against it and is unlikely to fail to pay its bills on time, according to a background report conducted by the business information firm Dun & Bradstreet.

The results were shared Thursday with the Davenport Finance Committee, which discussed ongoing lease negotiations with Florida-based Main Street Baseball.

“From everything I’ve been able to glean from the report, they’re a very good company,” city finance director Alan Guard told aldermen.

There's a glean, men. There's a glean. Marty Schottenheimer said that once and then the Browns lost to the Broncos in an AFC Championship game.

There is a lot of inside baseball about the new lease and where moeny will be going. But, the bottom line is this...

A resolution approving the lease likely will be voted on at next week’s City Council meeting.

This one is from November 1, but I don't think I've done an update of the Wizard stadium situation lately:

Poll: Tax-funded downtown Fort Wayne ballpark is unpopular

A proposed baseball stadium for downtown Fort Wayne strikes out with the public – especially if they’re going to have to help pay for it.

Just 36 percent of Allen County residents say they favor using at least some taxpayer dollars to build the stadium, which has been touted as one of the centerpieces of downtown revitalization. Forty-three percent oppose the idea, according to The News-Sentinel/News Channel 15 poll.

Significantly, however, 21 percent are undecided – not surprising, since a specific project, cost and funding plan have not yet been proposed. Those and other still-to-be decided details ultimately could setermine whether the public embraces or rejects the planned replacement for Memorial Stadium.

But with just one year left on the Wizards’ lease with the 13-year-old Memorial Stadium, [Jason] Freier [of Hardball Capital, the group that owns the Wizards] knows something must be decided quickly. “By 2008, we want to be in an improved stadium,” he said.
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At this point, it appears likely a downtown stadium will be built, but if it isn’t, Memorial Stadium may be upgraded. Coliseum General Manager Randy Brown in June said he was considering investing about $5 million into the field, which would pay for improved seating, a partial roof, new scoreboard and other features to make the no-frills stadium more fan-friendly.

The time to discuss those improvements is approaching rapidly, Freier said.

Mayor Graham Richard conceded the downtown stadium project is a little behind schedule, “but I’m very optimistic the public will support it” when a proposal is finalized, which will be coupled with plans for a new downtown hoptel. Property taxes would not be increased to pay for the stadium, he said, but other public funds – including income taxes and creating of a special downtown taxing district – could be tapped. Memorial Stadium could then be used by IPFW, high schools and other public functions, he said.

“It’s hard to get all of that in a poll question,” Richard added.

Yeah, it's hard to get people to shell out tax money for something they don't want, too.

Also, "and other public functions"? Graduations? Weddings? City Council meetings?

One politician in Fort Wayne has this leadership thing down though:

In the meantime, downtown advocate and City Councilman Tom Smith said officials should concentrate on downtown projects he believes the public does support: riverfront development and an indoor water park.

“My first choice is the people’s choice,” said Smith, R-1st.