Nashville's New Stadium -- Latest: "Fresno is not a place we are looking to go to" - Doug Melvin

[brewblue1]

The Dodgers have decided to move their AAA affiliate from Albuquerque to OK City. The stadium here in Albuquerque is a beautiful place to watch a ball game and the fans and city support the team very well! It's a newer stadium, with nice views of the mountains and traffic is easily handled.

 

Would love to see the BrewersAAA come to Albuquerque!

[Eye Black]

Interesting, so if all current reports are accurate it appears two teams are going to be searching for homes (Brewers and Astros) with Fresno and Albuquerque the two open landing spots. I would still guess Fresno is the more likely of the two for the Brewers, but it will be intriguing to see how it shakes out.

[Mass Haas]

Via Tom Haudricourt (Link for entire weekly notes column):

 

The Brewers have been affiliated with the Class AAA Nashville Sounds since the 2006 season, and stayed there despite the team playing in outdated Greer Stadium, a 37-year-old fossil that will be put out of its misery after this season. The Sounds' new ownership finally succeeded in putting together a public-private financing plan to build a new ballpark in time for the 2015 season.

 

The Sounds played their final game at Greer on Wednesday night, losing to Sacramento, 8-5.

 

After sticking with the Sounds all that time as they fought to get a new facility, the Brewers now face the possibility of being kicked to the curb with their player development contract expiring after the 2014 season. One popular rumor had the Brewers moving their Class AAA affiliate all the way out to Fresno, Calif.

 

"Fresno is not a place we are looking to go to," Doug Melvin said.

 

Melvin is still awaiting word from Nashville owner Frank Ward as to his intentions for a new contract.

 

"It's up to that ballclub, not us," Melvin said. "We don't make that decision. We've made every indication we want to stay there. We've been there a number of years now and played under certain conditions that weren't the best.

 

"We like the city; the city has treated us well. We love the new ownership.... We've had good conversations. I talked to the owner three weeks ago and he said he just wants to wait. He's busy building the new ballpark."

 

Minor-league teams with expiring player development contracts have between the end of their season and Sept. 11 to notify their commissioner of their intent to terminate their relationship with a big-league club. Those notifications are not made public, but teams without contracts are notified between Sept. 12-15 of the pool of available open affiliations.

 

Beginning on Sept. 16 and continuing through the end of the month, major-league and minor-league teams can negotiate new deals with each other. If all agreements are not in place by Oct. 7, MLB and Minor League Baseball combine to pair affiliates to franchises without a contract.

 

"I think we have a good relationship with (the Sounds), but that doesn't mean they won't look somewhere else," Melvin said.

[craigharmann]

So Fresno it is?

[TheCrew07]

So Fresno it is?

 

Ha that's exactly what I thought, DM is like a politician... if he's says not motivated or going to do something then that's exactly what happens. Maybe a left coaster will step up and volunteer to cover AAA for the LRs next year.

 

I do however refuse to give up all hope until it's actually a done deal that the Brewers are leaving Nashville, maybe I'm just in bitter denial.

[brewmann04]

wow i just hope its a 2 year deal with Fresno and the get the heck out.

[jerichoholicninja]

wow i just hope its a 2 year deal with Fresno and the get the heck out.

 

I'm pretty sure all deals are 3 year deals.

[Mass Haas]

wow i just hope its a 2 year deal with Fresno and the get the heck out.

 

I'm pretty sure all deals are 3 year deals.

 

Actually, they are all either two or four, no three's.

[AlMaFi]

The contracts can be even longer, but they have to be even to coincide with the biannual shake-up period. Most are two or four, but there are plenty of PDCs that are valid until 2020 and the Trenton Thunder (for example) are linked with the Yankees until 2022.