Brewers renewing with Huntsville -- Latest: Stars season ends with another losing record, poor attendance

[Mass Haas]

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Huntsville attendance frustrates Brewers

By Maurice Patton

THE TENNESSEAN

 

While the Nashville Sounds have had their issues with the Milwaukee Brewers, they can be thankful that attendance hasn't been among them.

 

The Huntsville Stars, Milwaukee's Class AA affiliate, can't quite say that.

 

In the July 7 issue of The Huntsville Times, Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash warned that a lack of fan support could cause the major league franchise to break ties with the minor league club once the working agreement between the two expires at the end of the 2010 season.

 

As the Brewers and the Sounds entered their working agreement prior to the 2005 season, hopes were high for a new facility to replace Greer Stadium, which debuted in 1978. The new stadium has still not materialized, but frustration from the big-league club is significantly higher with Huntsville than with its Class AAA counterpart, according to Ash.

 

"The last several years, going into Huntsville - it's just a very apathetic community," Ash said over the all-star break. "What I was trying to say in the article was, don't, after the fact, get upset that you've lost baseball. Now is the time to do something about it."

 

Serving as the Brewers' Double-A team since 1999, the Stars are last in the 10-team Southern League in average attendance (1,523 per date over 59 openings) this season. They trail the ninth-best team, West Tennessee (2,202), by nearly 700 per game.

 

Attendance has been trending downward at Joe Davis Stadium over the past three years, despite the Brewers putting a quality product on the field in Huntsville. In 2007, the Stars advanced to the Southern League championship series but were next-to-last in attendance with an average of just 2,449 per game. Last year, despite a roster that featured five of the Brewers' top 10 minor league prospects, attendance fell to 2,389 per game - ninth yet again.

 

In Nashville, attendance has not been particularly stellar. The Sounds' per-game average of 4,288 coming out of the All-Star Break is the second-worst total in the 16-team Pacific Coast League and down by 1,005 over the final reported average from last season.

 

The team's new ownership group, though, has Ash and the Brewers optimistic about the future.

 

"I think there seems to be a renewal of enthusiasm, of interest," Ash said. "I know there's been a tremendous amount of effort, time and money put into renovating a ballpark to satisfy the fans and our concerns over the next couple of years, but I know the goal's still to get a new facility if possible.

 

"I think the Sounds' new ownership has been extremely forthright and extremely positive in its relations with the Brewers, and we're prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt in terms of moving forward."

 

Frank Ward, one of the partners in the MFP Baseball ownership group that finalized its purchase of the Sounds in February, shares Ash's optimism about continuing his team's relationship with the Brewers.

 

"I can't say I'm not disappointed (in attendance), but part of the problem is it's been out of people's minds for so long. We've had to rebuild the fan base. That's what we're attempting to do, get the fans back. I have no reason not to believe it would work for both of us."

 

Progress on a new facility for the Sounds continues to be slow, if any, but it seems the Brewers are willing to be patient as the two teams also approach the end of their working agreement following the 2010 season.

 

"What I'm hearing from the new ownership is that they're working diligently behind the scenes and doing things in the proper manner, and we'll wait to see how it unfolds," Ash said. "We've made no secret of the fact that if it can be made to work in Nashville, we'd like to be part of it. It's a great city, it geographically works for us."

 

"The only drawback is the ballpark, and that's been at least temporarily improved. We'll hope there are better days ahead."

[hsvstarsfan]

Attendance in Huntsville started its precipitous decline in 2000, the second year of its affiliation with Milwaukee.

 

Any particular reason for the dislike of the Brewers/decline? It's not like the organization hasn't run considerable talent and many future big leaguers through there in the last 10 years....

No logical reason. Huntsville should be proud to have a professional team of ANY stripe, but of those who love baseball here, they are largely Braves fans first. Perhaps it was an increase in prices (it's $4 just to get in the parking lot), perhaps it was the lack of bonafide prospects as a draw. (Canseco, McGwire, and Weiss were part of the first three teams). I always have and still point to one big reason that Gord Ash picked up on instantly: apathy.

[Mass Haas]

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Will it be too late before town appreciates Stars?

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Miles Prentice, the Stars' owner whose appearances in Huntsville bring to mind the words "Halley's Comet," is scheduled to be here this week. He'll meet with Mayor Tommy Battle on Wednesday.

 

It's a meeting that's destined to be like a workout on a treadmill - much energy expended and it goes absolutely nowhere.

 

The future of the Huntsville Stars, as shaky as Jell-O, has become a hot topic since Gord Ash, the Milwaukee Brewers' assistant general manager, did Prentice a great favor by making this statement several weeks ago:

 

"This is a very apathetic baseball town, and something's going to have to change. They're going to be sorry in a couple of years when they don't have baseball," Ash said.

 

It was the sort of warning/ultimatum that Prentice can't afford to make. But Ash's accurate observation seems to have resonated loudly. It's ironic in some ways, since Milwaukee's decision on its marriage to Huntsville won't determine the franchise's future. As long as Prentice chooses to keep a team in Huntsville, there will be a major league affiliate for the city.

 

(A quick sidetrack: Huntsville will never get an affiliation with one of the sexy, big-name major league teams, not with the current facility and operation. But it's a lame excuse to blame Milwaukee as the downfall of the Stars. The Brewers have provided as much success and even more quality major leaguers coming through than did Oakland.)

 

I think minor league baseball is one of the most important facets in the "quality of life" for a city. As a friend said the other day, "I don't like the symphony, but I think we need one." A lot of people don't like baseball. But Huntsville needs a team.

 

From a perspective of someone who started writing about Southern League baseball in 1976, who has covered 500 Stars games since 1998, who has been to every stadium in the league and typed probably 50,000 words about the stadium issue and what other cities have done, here's what I think needs to happen to save baseball here.

 

The stadium. A new stadium would be wonderful. So would a BMW in my garage. Neither is feasible.

 

Don't buy into any hype that a new stadium will attract hotels, restaurants and other businesses in the vicinity. Unless you count a new Cracker Barrel on the interstate by a couple of the stadiums, among 10 Southern League cities, only in Montgomery has a new stadium truly accomplished that.

 

Instead, spend $10 million to $12 million or so on a facelift to create a "new and improved" Joe W. Davis Stadium. Prentice, who professes that he wants to keep the Stars in Huntsville forever, could assume some of that, and it's not unreasonable for the city to spend that much on a deteriorating 25-year-old piece of its property. When I suggested that to Prentice two years ago, he said it'd be something to discuss.

 

The staff. Prentice's major investment needs to be in the front office. It's time to spend money to make money. The Stars have been short-handed and staffed with entry-level employees who may have applaudable work ethics but don't have the experience and knowledge to generate the revenue and attention needed to be successful.

 

General manager Buck Rogers has an unbridled imagination for promotions and in-game activities; some have added life to the ol' ballpark, and some are a distraction for purists. It's time to put that imagination to work for more traditional measures to fill the park and reach out to Huntsville and neighboring cities.

 

The support. Prentice and his co-owners would be insane to keep a team here, losing money and with an apathetic audience, if they had a chance to move somewhere else within the Southern League footprint, like Gulfport-Biloxi, Orlando, Pensacola or somewhere in the Carolinas.

 

To be frank, as time goes on, more and more I'm convinced the best thing for baseball's future is for Huntsville to lose the team for a couple of years.

 

The sale. When a consortium of local owners bought the Stars from Larry Schmittou in 1994, it saved the franchise. It's time for that to happen again.

 

The absentee ownership of Prentice, a New York attorney who has never made himself a presence in Huntsville, has not worked.

 

Local owners will create more enthusiasm, monitor the operation more closely and have a better chance arm-twisting the powers-that-be for stadium improvements.

 

Bottom line:

 

Somebody new needs to buy the Stars.

 

And the community needs to buy into the Stars.

 

If not, Ash is right. The Stars will be just like a dramatic home-run call from a broadcaster:

 

"Going ... going ...

 

"Gone."

[Mass Haas]

http://www.al.com/images/huntsvilletimes/storymast_ht_478x50.gif

 

Friday, July 24, 2009

By Mike Marshall

Times Staff Writer mike.marshall@htimes.com

Prentice indicates he has no plans to move or sell the club

In a 45-minute meeting Thursday afternoon in Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle's office, Huntsville Stars owner Miles Prentice III made his pitch for a new baseball park to replace Joe Davis Stadium, a facility that Prentice called "not fan friendly."

Prentice indicated he has no plans to sell or move the club, even though he termed the Stars a "drain financially" and said he receives regular calls from investment bankers who are interested in buying the team

 

 

Prentice, a New York lawyer, has been the Stars' principal owner since October 2001, when he headed an eight-man group that bought the Stars for about $6 million.

"I guess the basic issue (now) is the recognition that we in Huntsville need a new ballpark," Prentice said in Battle's office after the meeting.

Prentice says he wants the new park at the current stadium site, a move that would save the city $5 million to $10 million, by his estimate.

"That makes the most sense to me and the mayor," Prentice said.

Prentice and Battle described the meeting as friendly and open. The meeting was Prentice's sole reason for visiting Huntsville Thursday.

He arrived from Texas, where he owns another minor-league team, and left town immediately after the meeting for upstate New York, where he was scheduled to attend a baseball-related function.

"We've talked frankly," Battle said. "(But) the situation around the country is, you can't build it this year or next year. It's a long-term process, either building or revamping. I think we're both saying we're wide open to any idea that will improve baseball here."

 

 

Later, after leaving Battle's office, Prentice said he was opposed to modifications to Joe Davis Stadium, a 10,500-seat facility built in 1985.

"All these things help, but they're not long-term fix," he said. "They're short term. The immediacy (of a new park) is crucial to the Brewers."

The Stars have been the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers since 1999. The Brewers have routinely fed the Stars with top prospects, but recent attendance has been woeful.

 

 

This season, the Stars have been a distant last in attendance among the 10 teams in the Southern League. Despite winning the North Division in the first half of the season, the Stars have averaged about 1,500 fans a game, about 700 fewer than West Tennessee, ninth in league attendance.

Even though Prentice described the Stars' financial losses as "significant," he said he has declined to sell the team because he "made a commitment to the community."

"This community can sustain it," Prentice said. "There are cities that are actually searching for minor-league teams. Investment bankers call me (to see) if I want to sell the team. That happens all the time."

But Prentice said he never returns those calls. One reason is that he believes Huntsville, with a metro population of more than 386,000, is "potentially a huge baseball town."

His views are in contrast to recent comments by Gord Ash, assistant general manager for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Stars' major-league parent club.

In early July, after a Sunday afternoon game attended by an announced crowd of 660, Ash called Huntsville "a very apathetic baseball town."

He added, "They're going to be sorry in a couple of years when they don't have baseball. I don't know if they're going to lose the team, but they're going to lose our interest in being here because there's no enthusiasm."

 

 

Ash's comments, though, had no bearing on Thursday's meeting, Prentice said.

"I still haven't talked to Gord Ash," Prentice said. "I don't know what he said."

Prentice, though, says he has a strong relationship with the Brewers - so strong that he believes team officials do not want to move the Stars.

 

 

 

"The Brewers want to talk to (Battle)," Prentice said. "They want to stay here. (But) they want a first-class facility."

Joe Davis Stadium, he said, is far from that.

"I see a very tired facility that was not designed by a baseball architect," Prentice said. "It was done quickly and inexpensively, and with no real forethought and not maintained for 20 years - not built to last."

A possible solution, he said, is to duplicate what happened in Midland, Texas, where Prentice owns the Double-A Midland RockHounds.

"The city built a new stadium there," he said. "Let's emphasize that."

Using a sales tax increase of a quarter of a point, Prentice said Midland built a new stadium, even though local unemployment was more than 9 percent.

Said Battle: "We'll look at all possibilities. (But) we both look at the reality of where we are right now. That's the financial times we live in."

Just moved this to combine with this thread, rather than begin a separate discussion....

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com

 

Francisco night

Stars make headlines -- off the field

 

It started with Gord Ash's visit to Huntsville, and his post-July 4th assessment of Huntsville's support of baby-Brewer baseball, and it hasn't ended since....... Off the field, the Stars have been making more news than the team has been making on the field, because Huntsville apparently doesn't care that their team is going to the post-season for the 13th time in 25 years -- an enviable track record....... The Brewers want something done, the true fans of the Stars want something done, and GM Buck Rogers wants something done. That's why Buck has already met with Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle and on Thursday, owner Miles Prentice met with the mayor.

 

The headline in Friday's Huntsville Times:

STARS OWNER PITCHES NEW PARK

 

Personally, I think the park just needs major renovation -- $15-20 million worth. A new park could cost the city perhaps $35 million or more, but Miles wants a new park, not major modifications...... Buck has told me on two occasions that the mayor, unlike previous mayor Spencer, is receptive to pleas for a new park, or a major renovation, but a new ballpark in this city would be an uphill battle........ Soon representatives of the Brewers, perhaps GM Doug Melvin, will probably meet with the mayor as well to make their case, as well.

 

Gord Ash's words that Huntsville is "a very apathetic baseball town that could cause us (the Brewers) to lose our interest in the team" hit a sore spot among Huntsvillians, but the assessment was right on the mark. Yet it was treated as an insult by those who have posted their remarks on the internet, who don't even go to the games! (Those people shouldn't have the right at all to speak. If you're not going to support the Stars, and still criticize, then SHUT UP!)...... That, as I'll explain further on, is what makes it an uphill battle.

 

Joe Davis Stadium is the oldest park in the league, built cheaply and in a haste in the late fall and winter of 1984 (before the age of the retro-ballpark, starting with Camden Yards), designed by architects who in Buck's words, "had no idea how to build a ballpark" (concessions out of the sight line of the field, deep foul territory and home plate pushed away from the seats, skyboxes without an outdoor alternative, no berm, no wraparound concourse, no restaurant, and so on and so on)........ Miles, owner since 1991, made his pitch to the mayor Thursday, pleading that it's time for a new ballpark, one done right this time, one that will attract fans from everywhere, as well as sorely apathetic Huntsville...... The Brewers want the Stars to remain their affiliate in Huntsville, but only if they can get a first-class stadium...... A new ballpark at the present site, he claims, would save the city an estimated $5-10 million....... This was the only reason for Miles' visit to Huntsville. He left town immediately afterward for a function in upstate New York.

 

While the mayor is receptive, economic factors make the wishes of Buck, Miles, the Brewers, and fans alike unfeasible for the present. If it happens at all, it would be two, maybe three years down the road, if the national economy recovers...... Huntsville, like most of the state, relies heavily on sales taxes. There is no gambling revenue (there's no state lottery, no horse racing, no casinos), and the tourism dollars can't match that of Florida, Louisiana, or states that do have gambling. (Gambling dollars turned Tunica from the poorest county to one of the richest in Mississippi). It varies from 8-11% depending on where you go in north Alabama, and largely the taxes come from the people who can least afford it, and those people right now are looking at unemployment rates inching toward 10%. They are hardly in a listening mood when it comes to being taxed, as if they ever were...... So this is hardly the time to ask Huntsville's ultra-conservative citizens for a half-cent or quarter-cent sales tax increase to fund a stadium. From the letters I've read in the paper and internet postings, they would blow their collective tops if it were proposed, and one misguided letter-writer a week ago said the Stars were a financial drain on the city and it is they that should go. (An absurd and unintelligent remark from someone who admittedly was not a baseball fan at all. Actually, the Stars are an asset to the city and the stadium's cost in maintenance to the city is actually a trickle in the city budget.)...... Mayor Battle says "you can't build it this year or the next and building or revamping would be more of a long-term project."

[TooLiveBrew]

I still don't really understand why the Brewers care about Huntsville's attendance. If it's related to funding for a theoretical new stadium, I guess I get it.

[TheCrew07]

Because it's a partnership... what's good for Huntsville is good for the Brewers. A new stadium means better facilities for the players... from the start it appeared that the Milwaukee brass is lending a hand to Prentice and Rogers to jump start the talk around town. Milwaukee can simply choose not to resign with Huntsville so the organization doesn't have a great stake in what's going on other than to offer a warning to the general public that the way things are going Huntsville won't have a team period in the not so distant future. I don't see this as the Brewers pushing I see this as calculated assistance. Would anyone be talking about a stadium if Ash hadn't said what he did?

[Mass Haas]

Mark McCarter at the Times:

 

Still mulling Prentice and his Stars

A week after Huntsville Stars owner Miles Prentice popped in for his brief meeting with Mayor Tommy Battle about a new stadium last week, two quotes still nag me.

 

First, when he was apparently surfing the tsunami caused by Milwaukee Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash's recent observation that Huntsville won't appreciate its baseball team until it's gone, Prentice claimed "I still haven't talked to Gord Ash. I don't know what he said."

 

If so, he is either being disingenuous or is even more out of touch than I believe.

 

Second, there was a misleading comment. He wanted to "emphasize" the point that Midland, Texas, built a new stadium for his Double-A Texas League franchise, the Midland RockHounds.

 

Let me emphasize this: While the city did indeed build a new stadium, it was part of a package deal, a special referendum for a quarter-cent sales tax increase to also construct an adjacent 15,000-seat high school football stadium.

 

Midland High played in a decrepit stadium. The year of the vote, it was ranked No. 1 in the USA Today poll. Conveniently, the week of the vote, Midland was playing its crosstown rival Lee in that run-down stadium.

 

It passed 61 percent to 39 percent.

 

As Stewart Doreen, managing editor of The Midland Reporter-Telegram, told me when I visited there two years ago to report on the subject, "The RockHounds did a nice job riding the coattails of a football project."

 

Ex-Mayor Bobby Burns, who championed the project, acknowledged that the only way the referendum would pass was to have all the various voting blocs - football fans, band parents, soccer parents, baseball fans - united.

 

To his credit, Prentice hasn't tried to blackmail Huntsville with threats of moving the franchise. Ditto, in Midland.

 

Sitting in his office in August 2007, Burns did say this. It's worth emphasizing:

 

"We received no pressure, no threats, no 'we're-going-to-move,' nothing even subtle. That didn't mean I didn't think he'd have to make a business decision one day. I thought five, six, seven years down the road he might be presented with something he couldn't pass up. It was our desire to treat them right, make them feel welcome, make them think we want them for a long time."

[Mass Haas]

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Q&A -- Buck Rogers, Huntsville Stars GM

Huntsville Times

The season was beset by rain, poor attendance, concerns about the franchise's future, a famous incendiary quote - and a return to the playoffs by the Huntsville Stars for the fifth time in nine years.

Before leaving for Milwaukee for the Brewers' annual meeting with their minor-league affiliates, Stars general manager Buck Rogers talked with Times columnist Mark McCarter to both look back and look ahead.

Q: The Stars contract with the Brewers comes up for renewal next year. Will that be part of this weekend's agenda and what does the future hold?

Rogers: I think we're in great shape with Milwaukee. We've had every level of their management come through this year and we've always had good open dialogue with Milwaukee. They're easy to deal with. I don't think, as far as long-term future, we'll discuss it this weekend.

Q: The Brewers' assistant general manager Gord Ash called Huntsville "an apathetic baseball town" during a visit this season. Your reaction?

Rogers: I think he was having a bad day. Every time Gord came to town I think we gave up double-digit runs. And it rained quite a bit. It hurt quite a bit, people thinking that the Stars are leaving, things like that. We're not leaving.

A lot of people don't understand the affiliation relationship. If the Brewers did end the agreement with us after next year, we're still the Huntsville Stars with the same logo, same stadium and we'd be with (another major league affiliate). We'd still be playing baseball. But I'd really hate to lose the Brewers.

I know people remember (Jose) Canseco and (Mark) McGwire and they talk about that, but my answer is how many guys came through here recently who have made it with the Brewers. And they're loaded with them. We want (today's) kids to remember 20 years from now.

Q: How did you feel about the past season?

Rogers: Wow, before this season my record for tarp pulls (because of rain) in a season was 56 in a 70-game season. That's a hellacious amount. This year in 70 games we did 54. The weather this year just crushed us. Our biggest dates were rained out. If we set it up, Mother Nature knocked it back down this season.

Q: What were your successes?

Rogers: We kept up with charitable activities, non-profit organizations. Our goal was to increase those and we did. We've got a lot to do and plan for next year. We continued to work on the stadium, painting, trying to fix the things we could fix, trying to make the fan experience the best it could be.

Q: This franchise has drawn a lot of criticism lately, and you know I'm one of the louder critics. So how do you respond why people say some promotions are more appropriate to Single-A ball and not a conservative fan base like Huntsville?

Rogers: We definitely have to adjust how we do things. It's always a learning curve. You never know what you're going to be able to get away with until you try it. ... We're not going to stop trying to do things to have fun. It's about family fun and kicking it up a notch.

Q: Another criticism is the staff, which is one of the smallest in Double-A and half the size of Midland (Texas), which is also owned by Miles Prentice.

Rogers: We're a small operation. But it's what you compare yourself to. (Midland) has a minor-league soccer team they also run. I don't know if you can compare apples to apples. But, granted, yes, we should have a staff double the size of what we have now. We have to do more with less. Until we can get this operation and the stadium swinging in a positive direction, this is what we have.

Q: You have defended having an absentee owner, but doesn't that impact the team?

Rogers: He comes around a few times a year. He calls me three-four times a day. A lot of times just calling to ask the score, what's the crowd like. Miles ... has a lot of irons in the fire. He has a couple of other teams. He's a lawyer on top of that. I know he's always on the move. It's hard to keep up with him. If Miles lived here would it be different? Sure. But it is what it is.

Q: What is the future of this franchise? Are we in danger of losing baseball in Huntsville?

Rogers: (Miles) is committed to Huntsville. He said he doesn't want to leave Huntsville, he doesn't want to move, he doesn't want to sell. He wants to fix this operation and guarantee its existence for the future. I'm going to take him at his word because the man has never lied to me before.

[Mass Haas]

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A large crowd, 7,782 strong, gives Huntsville a proud All-Star evening

Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, AL. -- Just when the skepticism level was creeping into the danger level, just when the notion of the Huntsville Stars hosting a Southern League All-Star Game kept bringing to mind the old newsreel footage of the Hindenburg, this happens:

 

Some 7,782 friends and neighbors showed up to watch.

 

The game was entertaining and well-played.

 

Things went off without a hitch.

 

And, did I say that 7,782 showed up to watch?

 

In a city that's last in the league in attendance?

 

That's more fans than Birmingham drew last year, more than the Montgomery Biscuits drew in 2006. More than anybody's drawn as far back as Google can carry you.

 

So what if more than a few of the tickets were freebies? The fact that the crowd stretched clear down into the elbow of the left field stands, that people had to brush away dust that had been sitting on some seats since Michael Jordan was trying to play baseball, so what?

 

The North won the game 3-2 - it has won all six years of this North vs. South format - and the Jacksonville's Matt Dominguez won the MVP award with about 800 feet worth of home runs.

 

The real winner?

 

Huntsville.

 

"I'm so proud of Huntsville right now," said Jimmy Jones, a former Stars catcher who has volunteered tirelessly in support of the game.

 

It was barely more than a year ago when Milwaukee assistant general manager Gord Ash famously, and not inaccurately, said that "this is a very apathetic baseball town, and something's going to have to change."

 

Something changed, if only for a few lovely hours, on Monday night.

 

How wonderful if the Southern League All-Star Game is a catalyst.

 

Especially since many of us feared it might be a catastrophe.

 

How wonderful if these paying customers would return a few more times and sponsors got back on board and ownership gave the franchise the sort of attention on a regular basis it did these past three days.

 

How wonderful if this evening shook up the apathy.

 

It was a typical All-Star Game, with some goofiness, though nothing quite as bizarre as in the 1986 edition of the All-Star Game. That night, the Oak Ridge Boy and Stars' part-owner Richard Sterban was inserted into right field for the last out of the game.

 

Because of the shortage of pitching and reluctance to use anyone for more than two innings' work, Josh Collmenter was the North's starting pitcher.

 

At 6-1 and an ERA skimpier than a Speedo, he was a deserving starter.

 

Except that he pitches for Mobile. And was selected to the South team.

 

"Benedict Arnold," he called himself.

 

Sometimes you fear the Stars' organization is more concerned with hokey promotions - for instance, the five masochists who are going to climb into a car Wednesday night to see who can stay in there the longest - than it is with doing all it should to restore the team's spot in the community fabric.

 

And it certainly was not an All-Star Extravaganza to take advantage of all that Huntsville has to offer. The visiting players and league guests were pretty much limited to hotel ballrooms and the ballpark for the festivities; small budgets equal modest events. You'd have liked to have seen a little more glamour.

 

But Huntsville offered its support to the All-Star Game, and that's what truly counts.

 

Now, the burning question, how to build on the magic of this event when it's all Stars and not All-Stars?

 

The Southern League All-Star Game featured an announced crowd of 7,782 on Tuesday a Joe Davis Stadium.

Photo by Dave Dieter/The Huntsville Times

 

http://media.al.com/huntsville-times-sports/photo/southern-league-all-starsjpg-182d09fa0ccbfc0f_large.jpg

 

The Southern League All Star game was held Monday night at Joe Davis Stadium for the first time in 18 years. Joe Carlucci shows off his award winning pizza spinning skills prior to start of game. Southern All Star Game gallery (21 photos)

[Mass Haas]

As a reminder, this first article detailed the extension of the Huntsville Stars' lease extension with the city of Huntsville, through the 2015 season.

 

There may be a "lame-duck" situation in Huntsville towards the tail end of that lease if the city of Panama City, Florida follows through on their plan. Of course, all this would only mean anything to the Brewers should they hang in with the Huntsville affiliation until 2016 and/or beyond.

 

This is more a courtesy post for our Huntsvillians on the forum.

 

***

 

Panama City may build baseball park

 

Panama City beat Pensacola out in getting Southwest Airlines. Now the city is looking to build a ballpark and has reached out to the ownership of Huntsville Stars (Class AA; Southern League). Imagine a city actually wanting to build a ballpark—and not even having a team or local ownership yet. And the City is on the Florida Panhandle and smaller than Pensacola – 36,807 – (Read more).

The Huntsville Stars currently play in Joe W. Davis Municipial Stadium, which seats 10,200 and has 14 Air-Conditioned Skyboxes. It was built in 1985.

For Pensacola to attract the Stars or an affiliated team, we will need a bigger stadium than the 3,200 seats proposed. Studer has been approached by MLB teams, but unfortunately, Marty Donovan, Charlie Fairchild and Jack Nobles would block any such move to seriously attract affiliated baseball.

The delays – lawsuit by Strand and petition drives – have held up the maritime park, even though we held a referendum. Ballparks have been built since 2006 all over the south. Once again, we are being left behind.

The “baseball is bad” crowd needs to wake up and look around. Minor league baseball – both affiliated and independent – is thriving, especially in new downtown stadiums.

To get a Double A, affiliated team, Pensacola would need to get permission of the Mobile Bay Bears—which can be done because the teams pull from different markets. Think of a three-team rivalry along the Gulf Coast – Mobile, Pensacola and Panama City.

We need to build a bigger stadium – $20M-25M–or be sure the current design will allow expansion.

Where’s a strong mayor when we need one? Or would Marty, Charlie and Jack move to Panama City for a few years if we pay for the moving vans? Obviously Panama City needs their expertise.

[Mass Haas]

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Brewers may not return as Huntsville Stars' big league partner

Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The Huntsville Stars are among the few Class AA teams not assured of a major league partner for next season and indications are that the parent club, the Milwaukee Brewers, is interested in exploring options elsewhere because of dissatisfaction with Joe W. Davis Stadium.

 

Stars owner Miles Prentice said he "has no idea" whether the player development contract with the Brewers will be renewed and he has not engaged in formal talks with Milwaukee officials.

 

"At the end of the day, they need to find the best possible facility," Prentice said.

 

However, the Stars will continue operations in Huntsville next season, even if a different major league partner is obtained.

 

If Milwaukee doesn't return, the most likely potential major league affiliates for Huntsville are the California Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants or Seattle Mariners.

 

"Baseball will be here next year," General Manager Buck Rogers said. "I've got next year's schedule sitting right here."

 

"We've extended the lease so I certainly plan to be there next year," said Prentice, who announced in April a five-year extension on the city-owned ballpark.

 

Prentice downplayed recent published reports from Panama City, Fla., that groups there want to build a stadium and obtain membership in the Southern League, and they have talked with him about purchasing or moving the Stars.

 

He had a conversation with Panama City real estate developer Donald Jackson nearly a year ago but said it was a general inquiry.

 

Prentice, a New York-based attorney who heads a group that purchased the Stars in 2001, said, "I have a lot of people call me all of the time" who have questions or interest in buying a team.

 

Prentice has seen the Huntsville franchise plummet to the bottom of the league in attendance, and Monday afternoon's game drew only 440 fans.

 

Currently 22 of the 30 Class AA working agreements have been renewed or are in the process of renewal. (They are done so on even-numbered years, for either two- or four-year terms.) Four Southern League teams have announced renewals in the past two weeks, leaving Huntsville, Carolina (Cincinnati Reds) and West Tenn (Seattle Mariners) unsigned. Major league teams can shift their affiliations among the three Double-A leagues.

 

Teams must notify their respective league offices by Sept. 11 if they do not plan to renew their player development contracts, then there is a period from Sept. 16-30 where potential new deals may be negotiated; there are stiff fines for negotiating with new teams outside that two-week window.

 

It is clearly a situation where Huntsville's ownership will be wooing the Brewers once Prentice can begin discussions with Milwaukee Executive Vice President/General Manager Doug Melvin and his chief aide, Gord Ash.

 

"We'd certainly love to have the Brewers back," Rogers said. "They're one of the classiest organizations around."

 

Brewers' officials have grown weary of the lack of response by Huntsville and Stars ownership for improvements to the 26-year-old stadium since the Brewers began their relationship with the Stars in 1999.

 

"Obviously there are certain areas that need to be addressed with the facility at Joe Davis," said Scott Martens, business manager for the Brewers' minor league operation. "It's a stadium that has had relatively little maintenance. There are few stadiums that old that haven't undergone some major renovation. I think anybody who has been to any other park and then to Joe Davis knows there are issues that need to be addressed."

 

Among the issues: poor playing surface, drainage problems (that led to two cancellations last week), stadium lights angled for football play not baseball, a visitors clubhouse that barely meets the lowest standards in minor league ball and the lack of an adequate batting-practice area.

 

"They like the people here," Prentice said, "but they're frustrated with (the stadium)."

[Mass Haas]

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If Brewers and Stars split, it's sign of more serious woes

Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, AL. -- There are cozy old analogies that are dragged out when it comes to minor league baseball teams and their major league affiliates. It's high school all over again. It's some bad teen-angst movie.

 

The Homecoming Queen pairs up with The Football Hero. And then pairings neatly line up all the way down the food chain.

 

The Huntsville Stars organization is the nerd, with glasses taped together, clumsy personality and pants cuffs three inches north of their appropriate longitude.

 

Thing is, the Milwaukee Brewers aren't exactly the head cheerleader either.

 

The Brewers have concerns about Huntsville and Joe W. Davis Stadium. Many Huntsville fans have long voiced displeasure over the affiliation with Milwaukee.

 

But with closer examination, they may be a good couple.

 

Continuing the relationship that began in 1999 might prove the best alternatives for both, despite their respective flaws.

 

The Stars and Brewers are among eight sets of partners who have not yet announced the renewal of their Class AA-level player development contract (PDC) for next season, or are not on the cusp of doing so.

 

Miles Prentice, the team's majority owner, didn't project any sense of urgency or concern in re-upping with the Brewers before the Sept. 11 deadline to notify the Southern League of his intentions.

 

If not Milwaukee, the likely options for Huntsville would be the California Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants or Seattle Mariners.

 

The Brewers are looking pretty hot all of a sudden, huh?

 

If not Huntsville, the likely options for Milwaukee would be places like Jackson, Tenn., Harrisburg, Pa., Erie, Pa., or Zebulon, N.C., 25 miles from the nearest city and 350 miles from the nearest Southern League rival.

 

Huntsville's looking pretty handsome, huh?

 

Though they'd prefer to stay here, the Brewers have been vocal with complaints about the stadium since they arrived in 1999. That plays nicely for Prentice. He can let the Brewers gripe, and he doesn't become the greedy owner wanting handouts.

 

A desperately needed home clubhouse was finally built, though the visitors' locker room remains an embarrassment. They'd like a better batting practice area under the stands. The playing surface has deteriorated with the passage of time and, mostly, the shrinking of the Stars' budget.

 

It finally rolls back around to the long-time problem. No support.

 

If fans don't come watch the team, the city panjandrums aren't going to throw taxpayer money at a new or renovated park or make even the most humble changes.

But a bad park hurts attendance.

 

If the Stars don't market better, crowds shrink. But without paying customers the fans don't have the staff to adequately promote.

 

There is no city to which Prentice could feasibly move the Stars immediately. But Panama City is making noise about building a stadium. Ditto Biloxi. Either would welcome him, perhaps as early as 2012.

 

Eventually, the Stars' collection of millionaire owners may realize their team is a business, not a hobby. That's been the blessing and curse. The curse is their apathy in running the organization properly. The blessing is, if they truly cared about making money, they'd have long ago looked for a more supportive community and generous government.

 

Losing the Brewers is one thing.

 

Losing baseball is another.

 

One sooner, the other later, they both seem more likely with each passing day.

[trwi7]

Mark McCarter wrote:

---

Many Huntsville fans have long voiced displeasure over the affiliation with Milwaukee.

Many? Define many, like 30?

 

 

Mark McCarter wrote:

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If not Huntsville, the likely options for Milwaukee would be places like Jackson, Tenn., Harrisburg, Pa., Erie, Pa., or Zebulon, N.C., 25 miles from the nearest city and 350 miles from the nearest Southern League rival.

 

Huntsville's looking pretty handsome, huh?

Not really. If Huntsville doesn't have the proper facilities and a team like Carolina does, then it doesn't matter that they're 25 miles from Raleigh or 350 miles from the nearest Southern League rival. In that case they can just sign a two year deal and then in 2012 when the contracts of Akron, Binghamton, New Britain, New Hampshire, Portland, Jacksonville, Mobile, Tennessee, Corpus Christi, Midland, Northwest Arkansas and whatever teams that expire in 2010 sign two year deals will be available though I'm guessing teams like Portland and Akron will keep the Red Sox and Indians respectively there will be options and if the Brewers are really that angry about Joe Davis Stadium, they won't hesitate to move.

[craigharmann]

Corpus Christi, Midland,

My votes right there! Selfishly, of course, but I'm a 3 hour drive from CC and a 5 hour drive from Midland. And they'd be coming here to San Antonio to play a lot, so I'd get to watch our guys play!

 

Edit: By the way, Midland has a really nice stadium, and Corpus Christi has a great stadium, right on the bay!

[trwi7]

Well San Diego's contract is up with San Antonio after this season. You should be hoping the Brewers sign on with them. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[craigharmann]

Well San Diego's contract is up with San Antonio after this season. You should be hoping the Brewers sign on with them. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Yes, that would be perfect, and I would have to get season tickets, but I think that relationship is pretty solid. But you never know!

[GoMocs]

I am a season ticket holder, have been on and off since 1989 here in Huntsville. Many points to be made.

 

1) We are not losing fans because of the Brewers affiliation. Most of the fans want a NL team, we have that. Of course they would prefer the ATL Braves, not gonna happen. Brewers on are tv here more than the A's used to be (prior affiliate). Brewers are on vs Braves on cable.

 

2) Many things s*ck about the stadium, its design, its ambience, the video board doesn't work, can't understand what is said on the speakers, no restuarants without driving, concessions are not good, highest ticket prices in Southern League for children, no "crawling" score board for scores. I could go on for days.

 

3) Problem is not lack of free tickets aka "buy outs", problem was 75% of the games in the 90s and early 00s were free, they devalued a ticket to the point where nobody wants to buy one. You hear people all the time complaining about how they dont' give away tickets anymore and they don't want to buy one.

 

4) Talk of recession is BUNK. Huntsville has been hit less by the recession than other SL cities, but yet attendance drops annually while other cities attendance still rises annually.

 

5) The horns aka vuvuzuelas last year did turn people off, but they are gone, quit selling them. That is a good thing.

 

6) No promotions. We don't have any promotions, no SD Chicken, no Zooperstars, nothing. They sorta over did promotions in the past, having the Chicken in three times one year to the point where it didn't help attendance, now they are the other extreme.

 

7) The workers and staff at the game try, but the Stars owners and mgmt either can't spend money here or won't. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

 

8) Stars and City of Huntsville have a p*ssing contest going on for years about who is responsible for what maintenance. Meanwhile the stadium crumbles and attendance plummets.

 

IMHO they need to tear down the stadium and start over, it was built for both football and baseball in a rush in 1984 and while passable for both is good for neither. (football doesn't play here anymore).

 

I have traveled and lived all over the country and been to many ballparks, both major and minor, so I feel I have some grasp of the situation here, we are in trouble.

 

Questions?

[Mass Haas]

This is all so tiring -- please hope for stable and fruitful AAA and AA relationships beginning in 2011 --

 

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President of Minor League Baseball offers negative assessment of Joe Davis Stadium

Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, AL. -- The condition of Joe W. Davis Stadium "is not conducive to the long-term health of baseball in Huntsville," according to Pat O'Conner, president of Minor League Baseball.

O'Conner met with Huntsville Stars general manager Buck Rogers and Southern League president Don Mincher at the stadium on Friday for an informal tour of the 26-year-old city-owned park and said "the status quo is no longer acceptable."

O'Conner said his organization will "enforce the rules" to see that the park meets standards set by Minor League Baseball.

In an extreme measure, "We can force the club to leave eventually," O'Conner said in an interview with The Times on Monday. "That's the death sentence, so to speak, and we prefer not to do that.

"I'm not coming in here complaining or threatening. It's an honest assessment of the situation," he said.

"I'm not trying to be overly critical. I'm just trying to be a pragmatist about it," O'Conner said. "They need a ballpark. They need a gross renovation or a (new) ballpark and I'm not sure a renovation will help them there."

O'Conner is "a problem solver (who) attacks things head-on," according to Mincher, a former owner and general manager of the Stars. O'Conner was en route to Nashville when he stopped in Huntsville because "I know (the stadium) is going to be an issue this winter," he said.

The Milwaukee Brewers have not renewed their player-development contract with the Stars for the next two years, and Brewers' business manager Scott Martens said Monday there "is nothing new" on that front.

If the Brewers exercise the right to negotiate with potential other minor league ownerships and cities, which will be permitted beginning Sept. 13, the only available major league affiliates are expected to be the Anaheim Angels, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners.

The Brewers have expressed their displeasure with the city's response to requests for improvements, but Mayor Tommy Battle has said the team's attendance, coupled with the city's $15 million budget deficit, does not warrant substantial investments in renovation or replacing Joe Davis Stadium.

Battle has said he's not thrilled about the city's contract with the Stars, which was already in place when he took office in late 2008. The Stars pay the city just $10,000 per season to use the stadium, he said. Meanwhile, the city is obligated to pay expensive stadium maintenance and upgrades.

Among other things, the city is contractually obligated to replace the infield and outfield grass before next baseball season. Battle's chief of staff, Trent Willis, said that could cost as much as $100,000.

"We have cities in (Minor League Baseball) that are unable to do things and we have cities that are unwilling," O'Conner said. "I'm not sure yet where Huntsville fits."

Miles Prentice, the Stars' majority owner, has repeatedly insisted he plans to keep the Stars in Huntsville "forever," and announced his intention last April to extend the annual $10,000 lease with the city five more years. However, Prentice told The Times he has "gotten inquiries" from other cities and ownership groups.

Ground has been broken for a new stadium in Pensacola, Fla., and a major league affiliate will be sought for that park as soon as 2012, though it would infringe upon territorial rights owned by the Southern League and the Mobile BayBears franchise.

"It would break my heart to see Huntsville lose baseball," Mincher said.

O'Conner's tour was not part of the annual official inspection conducted by Minor League Baseball that examines lighting, the playing surface, safety issues and team clubhouses.

"It looks best from the outside," O'Conner said of the stadium. "When I pulled up, I was pleasantly surprised at the appearance. When we went onto the field and saw the seating bowl and the general appearance, it seemed fine. But when you start to peel the onion back, there are some serious problems there. Very serious problems."

Recently, drainage issues left the dugouts flooded from midday storms, raining out two games for which there were sunny skies by game time. A similar incident caused major PR problems for the Stars when the Alabama All-Stars Sports Week's baseball doubleheader was canceled.

"It's a great embarrassment for Minor League Baseball when we get rained out because the dugouts get flooded," O'Conner said.

"The place leaks like a sieve," he said, prompting concerns about health and safety issues that might result from water damage.

"When it happens over and over and over and the solution is, 'Well, that's just the way it is' and people throw up their hands and say 'That's part of the deal,' Well, it can't be part of the deal. Not long-term," O'Conner said.

Mincher said that "it's not up to the league office to bring things up to standards. It's the club's responsibility and Minor League Baseball's response to see that it's done."

That's where O'Conner's problem-solving trait might exhibit itself.

"What we can do is offer assistance, to mediate talks (between the Stars and Huntsville), to come up with ideas," O'Conner said. "For instance, I could have a lighting company in there tomorrow to address that situation. The problem is, nobody wants to pay for it.

"There are other needs ... that have gone un-met," O'Conner said. "I don't know if it's the ballclub's responsibility or the city's. I'm not going to micromanage the situation. The bottom line is that something needs to be done. Meaningful conversations ought to be held or Huntsville and that ballclub are going to lose control of that conversation."

 

Photo by Dave Dieter/Huntsville Times

Near-empty Joe Davis Stadium is typical occasion

http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/joe-davis-stadiumjpg-787876f01cba3618_large.jpg

 

***

 

Whether it's in the Tennessean (Nashville) or the Huntsville Times, no one ever comments on the rare "baseball" articles, but when the stadium articles publish, watch out -- lots of venom here.

[pete]

I suppose they aren't funny, but some of the comments in that article made me laugh. I want to know what place was rented for a wedding that cost more than 10K. Regardless, it doesn't sound too promising there.

[Invader3K]

Sounds like the Brewers are as good as gone, as far as that affiliation goes.

[Mass Haas]

Have not done detailed research into franchise / affillite sentiment regarding current arrangements, but these are simply direct ballpark info links regarding the five AA relationships Mark McCarter mentions above -- someone gets Huntsville in this game of musical chairs:

 

Erie, PA -- Tigers (opened in 1995); Eastern League

 

San Antonio, TX -- Padres (opened in 1994); Texas League

 

Richmond, VA -- Giants (opened in 1985); Eastern League

 

Arkansas (Little Rock) -- Angels (opened in 2007); Texas League

 

West Tenn (Jackson, TN) -- Mariners (opened in 1998); Southern League; they never draw well, but that seems to be a population issue rather than a stadium issue

 

***

 

Oklahoma City (AAA) and Little Rock are 340 miles (five hour drive) apart. Make it happen, Brewers!

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

West Tenn renews with Mariners while Stars still wait on '11 affiliate

Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, AL. -- The list of potential replacements for the Milwaukee Brewers as Huntsville's major league affiliate continues to shrink.

 

The West Tenn Diamond Jaxx announced Tuesday they've renewed with the Seattle Mariners. The team also announced it would play under a different nickname next year, though baseball rules stipulate it cannot be announced until its current season ends.

That leaves only the Anaheim Angels (currently at Arkansas of Texas League) Detroit Tigers (Erie of Eastern League), San Diego Padres (San Antonio of Texas League), San Francisco Giants (Richmond of Eastern League) and Tampa Bay Rays (Montgomery of Southern League), along with Milwaukee, without a Class AA affiliate contract signed for 2011-12.

However, Montgomery sources say a renewal there with the Rays is immiment and all reports out of San Antonio point to a love affair between the Padres and that city.

The Brewers would like to keep their Class AAA and Class AA farm clubs close to each other, as they currently have in Nashville and Huntsville. The Brewers have been disappointed in Nashville's U-turn on the construction of a new stadium -- Greer Stadium is the AAA equivalent to Huntsville's Joe Davis Stadium in age, infrastructure woes and player facilities -- and would also like to join the International League.

Oklahoma City, where Brewers GM Doug Melvin has some ties, seems the most likely Triple-A possibility for Milwaukee, especially if they could move into Little Rock for Class AA. It's not the 1 1/2-drive convenience, but would put the Brewers into two top-flight facilities.

The Chicago White Sox have not renewed with Charlotte, so moving the Brewers' Class AAA team there and putting Class AA in Richmond, reasonably convenient, might also be a possibilty.

[Mass Haas]

That's the first indication online I can remember seeing where someone mentioned a Brewer preference for getting back to the International League.

 

The proposed Charlotte / Richmond combo would seem to work geographically, but Oklahoma City / Little Rock still appears to be the ideal.

[craigharmann]

San Antonio, TX -- Padres (opened in 1994); Texas League

I would love to see the Brewers affiliate in San Antonio, but I was under the impression there is a positive relationship between the Missions and the Padres. But the Wolff is a great stadium. In fact, I'm heading out there Friday night to celebrate my birthday with friends. It would be awesome the next time I go out there, I'm watching a Brewers affiliate!