It’s time to step up
to the plate, and swing away
By BRAD WARTHEN
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
THIS IS A SPECIAL time in the world of baseball. We are approaching a critical cusp of opportunity, a point in the cosmic space-time continuum at which anything can happen, when one bounce of the ball can either fulfill our fondest dreams or crush them altogether.
No, I’m not talking about the Major League playoffs or the upcoming World Series. I’m talking about something more important: the future of professional baseball in Columbia.
You say you didn’t know it had a future? You say you thought it all went bye-bye when the Bombers (curse their names and spit) deserted us for Greenville?
Well, it didn’t. We can still have a joint-use ballpark — in the perfect location, down by the Congaree River — for both the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and a minor-league team.
But anyone in a position to make this happen needs to move quickly, because this window may only be open for the next few days and weeks.
Consider the following:
- USC is looking for an alternative to the crowded Vista site that has been frowned upon by Columbia City Council. This was the site that, until a few weeks ago, the Gamecocks were absolutely, positively going to build on (which caused all my colleagues to tell me to give up my dream). Expect that new site to be identified soon, because the university wants to show coach Ray Tanner and all the fans that a replacement for Sarge Frye Field will happen sooner rather than later. Of course, with a private partner chipping in, that new stadium could be a lot nicer than anything the university would build on its own.
- Contrary to conventional wisdom, USC President Andrew Sorensen would be open to said ballpark being shared with a minor-league team. Actually, “open” is too weak: “I’m completely supportive of that and wide-open to that,” he told me Friday. In fact, he said he was contacted by a team in the last few months, and while that didn’t lead to anything, he remains “wide-open” to a favorable overture from a pro team. “I’m a big minor-league baseball fan myself,” he said, adding that he goes to see the Jamestown Jammers in Upstate New York when he visits there in the summer. One caveat: “I’m not going to subsidize” a private partner. Any deal with a pro team must be advantageous to USC. When I said I saw no reason why a deal couldn’t be structured to benefit both parties, he agreed.
- The university recently reached an understanding with the Guignard family
that could lead to the new research campus extending down to the river. Consultants are working on giving shape to the new possibilities that this opens up. This would be an excellent time for someone — say, a minor-league team in search of a new home, and there are plenty of those out there — to step forward and say, “Why not make baseball a part of that vision, and let us help you?” - Developer Alan Kahn is on the verge of presenting Richland County Council with a detailed plan for a ballpark at his Village at Sandhill. He anticipates laying this proposal before the county by the end of this month. He’s been talking with the Columbus Catfish, and has secured from the South Atlantic League exclusive rights to this market for the Catfish. What that means is that for the next few months, no other SAL team can talk to Columbia. Mr. Kahn says he has nothing against a downtown ballpark, and nothing against a joint-use deal with the university — but Columbus is only interested in the suburbs.
This, sports fans, is where the ball could take a really bad hop. I continue to wish Mr. Kahn all the best in his development out there, but if a minor league team locates way out in the Northeast, what should happen won’t ever happen. Mr. Kahn is just trying to meet a demand. He says the team wants to go where people live. Well, I responded, that’s not where I live. That’s the trouble with baseball in the suburbs — it becomes one neighborhood’s team, rather than bringing the whole community together. It does Columbia, and the Midlands in general, no good at all. And no minor-league team or university can build as fine a park by its lonesome as the two entities can build together.
You might say that the fact that Columbus — which doesn’t want to build a park where Columbia needs one — has exclusive SAL rights precludes any other team from coming in and rescuing us from a fate worse than sprawl.
But not all minor-league teams belong to the Sally League. Consider, for instance, the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, a Southern League Class AA franchise (as opposed to those fickle deserters, the Class A Bombers) that is in a hurry to leave Jackson, Tenn.
Dan Morris, longtime sports guru of The Jackson Sun (and my former colleague, since I worked there from 1975 to 1985) tells me the Diamond Jaxx plan to be there for one more season, but “I don’t anticipate them staying after that.” In fact, Dan said, they’d rather leave sooner. “They just don’t have a facility to move to, or they’d move right now.” (Anybody hear opportunity knocking?)
Yes, the team has been in a dispute with the city of Jackson over its lease, but Dan seems to believe the Jaxx are pretty much free to leave. The team can get out of the lease if it draws fewer than 180,000 fans two years in a row. Last year, only 150,000 attended. This year, he said, it may have been fewer than 100,000.
Here’s the bottom line for this community: We could take a giant leap forward in our efforts to develop our riverfront — and further the university’s exciting expansion — with the kind of ballpark that two strong partners working together could build. This could be a jewel for people throughout the Midlands to enjoy, in an unsurpassable setting.
This can happen. Given all of the above factors, I refuse to believe that it can’t.
And the time for someone to step forward and make it happen is right now.
Related Posts
“Way out in the Northeast” is
just as far from downtown as it is the
other way around. Put the ballpark where
people want to go and want to be, not where it’s convenient to a few city dwellers.
I would hope that any decision to locate
a stadium for a minor league team downtown
would be preceded by a thorough marketing
study that would clearly demonstrate that
baseball fans will come into the city.
Luckily, I believe minor league baseball owners will look at the bottom line versus
trying to appease those people who can’t accept that most of us don’t want to come downtown any more.
Yes, Doug, downtown is just as far from the Northeast as the Northeast is from downtown. But, the Northeast is twice as far from Lexington as downtown is. It’s one-and-a-half times farther from much of West Columbia and Cayce as downtown is. I think that’s why Brad referred to a potential Northeast minor league franchise as “one neighborhood’s team.” The center of Columbia is, well, the center of Columbia. I didn’t mind the old Bombers stadium or Sarge Frye Field for that matter, but if USC is determined to build a new stadium, as a proud in-towner I fervently hope they work something out with a minor league franchise.
Brad, I hate to rain on your parade but if the Diamond Jaxx relocate to Columbia they will draw nicely for a year or so due to the novelty of a new park, then they won’t draw flies. Then what, entice the Florence Red Wolves???????????? I admire your persistence on this subject.
The Northeast is not “out there.” I’m sure it will soon be annexed into Columbia, just like the mall out by Harbison. The same sprawl and bad planning that destroyed northwest Columbia and screwed up Irmo is in the process of gutting the Decker/Lower Two Notch area and locking up the Northeast. I was at Columbia Place Mall today – Penney’s is gone, Lenscrafters and Athlete’s Foot are gone, Old Navy is getting ready to head out, Sears appears to be reducing inventory (maybe it was just a bad day for stocking); there is a new Lowe’s and Home Depot going up five miles down the road past the existing ones on Two Notch..what the heck, why NOT a baseball team out there? The amazing thing is that Columbia spends on their downtown at all. If you want a good, thought provoking story, Brad, The State should be examining whether the town is working at cross purposes by spending on downtown and the Vista at the time they are littering the unincorporated county areas with water and sewer lines to foster more generic development. Hasn’t anybody in Columbia government had an urban planning class sometime? Or even accidentally walked into one? Columbia acts like it is helpless while the Vista struggles, North Main empties at night, South Main they seem to ignore completely…at the same time they provided Alan Kahn with all the resources he needed to attract people to businesses far away from there.
I would argue that Columbia has done just about all it can to push baseball AWAY from downtown, Mayor Bob’s faint protests to the contrary.
The government has no more business supplying sports entertainment to its denizens than it has in supplying hip hop music…Ooooops! They are already doing that.
Those who whine the most for baseball and hockey don’t care enough about it to form a corporation and invest any of their money in the teams.
I always chuckle when I see The State write about the need for minor league baseball. The Bombers didn’t have the money for a stadium in Columbia but somehow they found plenty to offer when they moved to Greenville. Funny how that works. If baseball comes back to Columbia, I’d be just as happy to see it in the Northeast. There are quite a few folks out here and a private developer is willing to put his money where his mouth is on the subject. Until someone does that with a proposed park downtown, I’ll be happy supporting one in the Northeast. If you don’t want to make the drive out here, don’t come.
Better yet, drive to Charlotte or Greenville and spare us taxpayers from subsidizing more childish entertainment.
Lee and Brent,
Thanks for making my point for me. The city keeps on spending money to entertain people. I have a crazy idea. Why doesn’t the government stop inventing ways to spend our money, use what they do take out of our pockets for only needs that government must provide, and allow private citizens to fund this stuff if they think it is so important?
Why is it okay for Mayor Bob to give money to baseball, but Mayor Randy here in Lexington shouldn’t give money to the arts center? I happen to agree that the arts center shouldn’t be constructed with taxpayer money, but it is quite inconsistent to say that we should throw money at baseball.
Let’s just let government do what it should and stop with all of this economic development junk. Economic development should be enabled by low taxes and light regulation, not government waste piled on top of bad ideas that no private citizen would fund.
Nathan,
If government only provided NECESSARY services which are within its purpose for existing, there would be no need for property taxes or income taxes.
Then how would the politicians keep people in line? With just a small sales tax, they would no have to work long hours. Mothers could stay home with their children. Non-politicians would have time to participate in the political process. There would no way for businesses to get rich off subsidies, so there would be no reason for them to support career politicians as their puppets.
I am a minor league baseball fan. It is a shame and unacceptable that Columbia does not have minor league ball. Columbia should not settle for Class A ball either, Class AA is availble right now with this team from West Tennessee. I believe there is a logical way for this to happen. Someone should bring all parties together, USC, the franchise and the city if necessary, sit down and work it out. USC and the team could jointly build a baseball park that would benefit both and be nicer than if one built it alone. There are plenty of sites to choose from in the vista area. The team could play in Capital City Stadium next year while the new park is being built or share USC’s baseball field for a season.
Baseball needs to be in downtown Columbia, not in the suburbs. Also drop this silly Capital City name, the name of this city is Columbia not Capital City, SC and that should be reflected in the team’s idenity.
Something needs to be done now, this has gone back and forth way too long!
USC should build their own stadium for their own use. Almost all major college teams have their own stadium. In fact, very very few teams have to share a stadium. USC’s baseball program is one of the best in the nation. Ray Tanner deserves his own stadium. He doesn’t need the best one in the country (and have to share it). All he has ever requested is to have a nice one, not necessarily the biggest and best.
If some private developer wants to build a downtown baseball park for minor league baseball. That is great. Already we have one looking to do that in the Northeast. I think that is awesome.
As a USC graduate and booster club member, I will continue to urge them to build their own stadium – not one that has to be shared with anyone. I feel confident that is what they will do.
Baseball Stadiums. We are dedicated to providing you the avid fan with all the information on Major League Baseball Stadiums.
The Idaho Adult Baseball League is a Treasure Valley based men’s wood bat hardball league. The IABL provides the opportunity for men ages 18 to 40 to compete in a family oriented recreational atmosphere. Players of all skill levels are invited to join. Games are held on a weekly basis at local fields.
Inaugural season will commence in the spring of 2006.
The IABL is an Idaho non-profit company and operates only for the benefit of local players and fans.
Brad,
I see what forward thinking Carolina cities have done (i.e. Greensboro NC)in bringing minor league entertainment to their cities (what a beautiful stadium in Greensboro) and then I see the man in lieu of a mayor let our Bombers leave and then I look at this university that obstructs any pro sports ventures here in Columbia and I say good for Alan Kahn. While he’s at it, he should build a hockey rink so the Inferno doesn’t have to play in that decrepit Colliseum that USC/McGee screwed them into playing in after reneging on the promise of the Colonial Center. Let’s inject some life into this boring city; isn’t that what life’s about fun? I don’t understand some of these posters on here. It’s as if if it’s not Gamecock oriented then they’d just as rather watch the grass grow. Let’s revitalize this otherwise boring town and let’s do it away from a university (and city of Columbia) that keeps getting in the way of progress.