OT: so, baseball coming back again? (All things Fat Cats)

[chrewilson]

Too bad the IBL couldn't have also attracted teams from Kingston, Cornwall, Belleville etc. so it wouldn't just be Southern Ontario teams and Ottawa, all alone in the eastern 'hinterlands'.

Rumours are they are wanting to try Kingston, but with no Ottawa team that wouldn't happen.

 

[Canadian91]

Rumours are they are wanting to try Kingston, but with no Ottawa team that wouldn't happen.

I think the IBL's eastern experiment is pretty much over.

 

[McManked]

Im getting season tickets...

 

[FuriousSenator]

Great news everyone.

I have it on good authority that Ottawa will be getting the Jays' AA franchise in Binghampton to start play in 2014!

Also, plans for the redeveloped stadium include a brand new video scoreboard, as well as a video board overlooking the highway which will display advertisements and team news.

Anyone still doubting me?

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/10/31...ill-land-toronto-blue-jays-double-a-affiliate

 

[ChocolateLeclaire]

Anyone still doubting me?

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/10/31...ill-land-toronto-blue-jays-double-a-affiliate

The problem is, this makes too much sense. Regionalizing the Jays as "Ontario's team" and having the Ottawa audience so familiar with their farm club that they tune in everytime a local favorite gets a call-up is such a no-brainer that I can't see the idiots who run the Jays doing it.

 

[Inkling]

The mayor should stay quiet. "Under promise and over deliver" If they don't end up getting the Jays then people will see it as a failure and you start things out on the wrong foot. Getting a team should be the selling point, if you can work behind the scenes to get the Jays affiliate then that's a bonus.

 

[Canadian91]

Just an update on the Fat Cats, they haven't folded just yet (although I believe that's coming soon). They apparently have a few weeks to work something out with the city, the deadline is "flexible" according to the commissioner. If nothing can be worked out (most likely nothing happening here) then they have the option to suspend operations for a season.

I think they should suspend ops and try to work something out for 2014. Some things - like paying other teams' expenses while they're in Ottawa - would have to go.

 

[ACLEVERNAME]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2012/2614356.html

More talk of the BInghampton team moving to Ottawa.

 

[Inkling]

Lots of activity in the Twitterverse today reporting and denying that the sale of a AA club to Ottawa has fallen through. Where there's smoke there's fire, so there is obviously something going on though we don't know if it's good or bad.

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/27...hamton-mets-move-to-ottawa-has-fallen-through

 

[Terrence]

Bump.

"Top Investors leave Ottawa baseball bid"

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports...tml?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

 

[ACLEVERNAME]

Bad day.

 

[Canadian91]

**** me

 

[McManked]

It mentioned some good stuff:

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/06/mark-sutcliffe-in-on-ottawa-double-a-bid
http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/12/05...p-group-for-double-a-baseball-team-in-capital

 

[Inkling]

So after all of this, it looks like we're getting a Can-Am league team in 2015:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ependent-baseball-to-ottawa-stadium-1.1866977

A bit of a come down after thinking we were getting Double A. I guess I can't blame them for not wanting to spend $40m (for park upgrades I assume?). To be honest, I think I'd prefer the Fat Cats back.

Maybe if the team has some success, it could set the stage for an affiliated MiLB team sometime in the future. The last kick at the Can-Am certainly didn't turn out well. Let's hope they don't bring back the Rapidz name.

At least it prevents the stadium from becoming another strip mall.

 

[Neil Patrick Harris]

So after all of this, it looks like we're getting a Can-Am league team in 2015:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ependent-baseball-to-ottawa-stadium-1.1866977

A bit of a come down after thinking we were getting Double A. I guess I can't blame them for not wanting to spend $40m (for park upgrades I assume?). To be honest, I think I'd prefer the Fat Cats back.

Maybe if the team has some success, it could set the stage for an affiliated MiLB team sometime in the future. The last kick at the Can-Am certainly didn't turn out well. Let's hope they don't bring back the Rapidz name.

At least it prevents the stadium from becoming another strip mall.

Can-Am league doesn't seem to be in that great of shape either. They've lost 6 teams since the Rapidz folded.

I'm doubtful we'll actually see this come to pass.

And yeah. It would've been nice if we'd renewed the lease with the Fat Cats rather than bet it all on bringing Double-A to town. Now we've got egg on our face and an empty stadium.

 

[Big Papi]

Can-Am league doesn't seem to be in that great of shape either. They've lost 6 teams since the Rapidz folded.

I'm doubtful we'll actually see this come to pass.

And yeah. It would've been nice if we'd renewed the lease with the Fat Cats rather than bet it all on bringing Double-A to town. Now we've got egg on our face and an empty stadium.

Jim Watson strikes again....

I'd prefer AA hands down. I'd even take Single A. I'll still go to whatever comes, but I'd prefer watching guys who have a real shot of making the bigs...

 

[connor macdavid]

Personally, as a long time baseball fan in and outside of Ottawa, I think short-season Single-A (think New-York/Penn League) would be the best fit here.

Minimal travel (7 hours at most), shortened season (May to August plus play-offs), and exciting young prospects all make it a more appealing option.

The fact is, the stadium would need to undergo some serious reno's at this point for Double-A.

 

[PaGEEsBack]

Something has to happen with that stadium either way. How many more years can it survive with 0-3 months worth of tenants a year? Either find a team to play there or tear it down already. Classic City of Ottawa in this situation; do nothing rather than something - or anything...

 

[Inkling]

I got to a AA game in Portland Maine this summer. It was against the Jay's affiliate (New Hampshire) and was awesome, I was looking forward to having the same option here. What puzzles me is the $40 m figure that they've been throwing around. I don't see what they would need that would possibly cost $40m. Portland's stadium is in much better shape than ours simply due to continual use and upkeep, but from strictly an infrastructure perspective the Ottawa stadium is much bigger and every bit as good, if not better (not really surprising considering it hosted AAA). It needs work, but it would be the Taj Mahal of AA stadiums given $40 million...it only cost (I think) $17 million to build in the first place.

I have to wonder if either the bidders were looking for a chump to take advantage of, and were not very serious, or the City has done some creative accounting with the bid to make it $40m just for an excuse as to why they failed at delivering a AA club.

 

[connor macdavid]

Regardless of why the Double-A deal fell through, the City of Ottawa is, from the reports, going to use a nearly-dead Indy League in an attempt to squeeze a little more (and I do mean LITTLE) cash out of the decrepit stadium.

It has fallen into disrepair, and I broadcast a few games from the press box in 2011 (It was awful)

It would need to undergo some serious maintenance and re-modeling to be fit for affiliated ball today, though definitely not $40 million dollars worth.