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airhogsfan |
New team in Sugar Land, Texas for 2010 for AA? |
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They passed a new tax for a stadium for Sugar Land, Texas yesterday! So is the AA going to put a team there??? There is also talk of triple AAA Omaha might
come down. Can they or will the Astros say no way??? The taxes is for a $25 million stadium similar to the AirHogs stadium so that would be perfect for the AA.
There also a little tidbit of a story at ballpark digest website.
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lamearmjr |
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The astros should be able to prevent a AAA team 20 min from MMP. The only way I see a AAA in Sugarland would be Houston move there AAA Express team there, but
with all the sucess in RR thats very unlikely. As for a AA team there that would be great for the league to take Houston in.
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nlfan |
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No. The AA isn't going to get that stadium. The story (as BPD has covered for months) is that the O-Royals (or another club?) might relocate there. If they
did, that would potentially leave the Omaha market wide open for the AA and NoL --unless another MiLB franchise was relocated there.
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common sense |
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Actually, nlfan, BPD's contradicting you a bit...this is there top-of-the-page report. Sounds to me like the AA is much more likely than affiliated ball: (edited for me to emphasize the section that's now in bold type)
Last Edited By: common sense
6-Nov-08 03:08:41.
Edited 1 times.
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lamearmjr |
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Also in the article it states something to the effect that 25 million is the cost for a nice indy teams stadium but not near the cost of a AAA team. They will
be an indy team if I had to bet on it.
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nlfan |
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Doh! My mistake.
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common sense |
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Not really a mistake; I saw the same things you did on BPD, and today is the first I've seen of them talking indy ball as more likely than affiliated.
I'm pretty sure the AA would LOVE to expand into the Houston area. Having said that, I know they're also concerned about having nothing between Shreveport and Pensacola, with the Pelicans out on an island. It seems to me that expansion issues are much more tricky in the South. |
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common sense |
O-Royals news makes Sugar Land likely AA destination | ||
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BPD has the story on the Omaha Royals reaching an agreement with Sarpy County officials (essentially, the Omaha suburbs); their story also includes this note:
After negotiating with Sugar Land, Texas officials over a new ballpark there -- voters approved $25 million in funding in last month's elections -- the O-Royals obviously found a better deal existed in Sarpy County. Speaking of Sugar Land: the decision by the O-Royals probably means the new ballpark will be inhabited by an independent American Association team headed by Mark Schuster, who also owns Grand Prairie and El Paso franchises in that circuit.I would guess that AA expansion in 2010 seems like a good bet at this point. |
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nlfan |
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It would be an interesting development. Besides a ballpark the question is "Would Sugarland be 'expansion' or 'relocation.'"
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common sense |
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An interesting question. Do you mean relocation as in, "Pensacola/El Paso/Shreveport pulls up stakes and moves all operations to Sugar Land," or do
you mean "Pensacola/El Paso/Shreveport folds operations, while a brand-new organization is born in Sugar Land?" The end result is basically the same
for the AA, but it is a big difference in how you get there.
Obviously, though, Miles and company hope the league will grow to 12 teams (and beyond), instead of staying at 10 teams and moving a couple around on a checkerboard every couple of years. |
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Saltdogsrule |
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Roger Dixon, the president of MECA, the organization which administers events at the Omaha Qwest Center and the soon to be home of the College World Series,
was on the radio this afternoon and indicated that they have been approached by the American Association and another league, which he did not disclose, for a
possible tenant in the new Omaha baseball stadium. As you know, the citizens are contentious regarding the building of a stadium which may only be used 2 weeks
out of the year, and, according to Dixon, 2 to 3 concerts during the summer.
One large reason of the Omaha Royals fall out was due to the mandatory parking fees that do not exist at Rosenblatt Stadium. Dixon stated that the AA didn't see the parking fees as a problem. I see St. Paul charges some $6 parking areas, not sure anywhere else. I would be hesitant to attend games as often as I do when the parking costs are more than half of the price of the ticket into the game. |
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nlfan |
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OK, first of the three clubs you list, only Shreveport would be a likely relocation candidate. Pensacola has a new ballpark in the works for 2010; El Paso has
been doing quite well lately.
With the comments about the AA trying to move into the new Omaha ballpark, it sounds more like expansion since it would make an easy pair matching. Of course it could go another way if you think Sioux City would finally give up. A lot of this will be easier to guess next year when we see what, if any, long standing issues arise from the current economic situation. |
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common sense |
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I only included Pensacola and El Paso because they're the two teams that are really out on islands, geographically, in the AA (although it should also be noted that, last I heard, that proposed Pensacola park was still stuck in legislative hell, and 2010 is no more of a guarantee than 2009 was a year ago). Shreveport would make the most sense if they continue to struggle, although A) that would put Pensacola even further away from the rest of the league, and B) the new Shreveport GM seems determined to try to make things work down there. (As an aside, I think Shreveport is going to go through with a name change and not be the Sports anymore, but that's just a guess based on some conversations I've had, nothing more concrete than that.)
Last Edited By: common sense
5-Dec-08 21:05:56.
Edited 2 times.
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nlfan |
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When it comes to Omaha questions, that should continue in the "Rosenblatt" topic.
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