Baseball in Milwaukie and Hillsboro

It's been a long time since I posted here.  My apologies.  Since March, I've been to a few baseball games -- University of Portland, Concordia University, West Coast League -- Portland, and even the Tacoma Raniers. But most of my baseball energy has been spent advocating for Milwaukie's bid to attract a Single-A baseball team to their city.  You can follow along with that effort by going to Facebook and liking "Bring Baseball to Milwaukie."

At the same time Milwaukie was trying to attract a professional team from the Northwest League, the city of Hillsboro was trying to do the same thing.  Eventually, as many of you know, the Yakima Bears chose to relocate  to Hillsboro, and the city allocated funds to add a baseball stadium to its Gordon Faber Recreation Complex without requiring a vote of the citizens or adding new taxes.  If the Bears had chosen Milwaukie, that city would have had to put a funding plan in place and ask voters to approve it, a chancy proposition at best.

I can certainly understand why the Bears chose Hillsboro over Milwaukie, because it was the safe and sure choice.  Hillsboro's population is more than four times that of Milwaukie, they already had land on which to build a ballpark, and they had money to fund construction. Although the site for a Milwaukie ballpark had been identified, they would have had to acquire the land, reroute roads and utilities, and convince Milwaukie voters to pay for it all.  Not nearly a sure thing anywhere, but especially not in Clackamas County, where voters refused to help pay for a new Sellwood Bridge and many want to keep an already-approved extension to MAX light rail out of their county.

So sure, it's logical that the Bears chose Hillsboro over Milwaukie.  They'll get a new ballpark, they'll get fans to come, and they'll make money.  But in my opinion, they'll miss out on the magic that could have been.  The Bears new ballpark will be in Hillsboro, but there's not really any Hillsboro there, if you know what I mean.  The site is next to the freeway, and there are lots of high-tech office buildings around, and gas stations, and a grocery store or two, and McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse is nearby. But the real city is miles away, and nobody is going to be able to walk to a game.  I really doubt whether the addition of a baseball team will do much of anything for the morale or culture of the city.

In Milwaukie, however, the addition of a team could have worked wonders.  There, citizens and leaders clearly wanted to do something to change the way people thought of the city.  They wanted to revitalize, to get businesses to look at relocating there, to get people in the metro area to think of the place as more than a road where a bunch of strip joints are located. The new ballpark would have been about a half mile from downtown Milwaukie, right on the new MAX line.  And the concourse would have been big and bold as seen from McGloughlin Blvd. when driving by.  The stadium would have made big changes to the city and to everyone who lives there.  Because of this, I'm very sorry that the bold thinking of the Milwaukie City Council wasn't rewarded.

Milwaukie leaders aren't giving up, however.  Even though they were spurned by the Northwest League, they're pursuing the possibility of landing a team from the West Coast League, a summer wood-bat league for college players.  They're looking at scaling back the size of a new stadium, to about 2,000 seats (costing about $12M instead of $25M).  And they're investigating whether they could achieve a decent financial benefit from such an investment.

My own opinion is that although I'd love to see a West Coast League team in Milwaukie, I'm not sure it would benefit the city as much as a pro team would.  The West Coast League is one of the best college summer leagues in the country (the most renowned would be the Cape Cod League),  and its players are mostly from Pac-12 and other top Division 1 programs. But its teams play in small towns such as Cowlitz, Kelowna, and Kitsap.  Locals may go gaga over their team, and I'm sure Milwaukie locals would go gaga over a team there too, but outside the area, who other than scouts, baseball fanatics, and relatives of the players care about this league?  A team in Milwaukie might do great things for the city's morale, but will anyone outside the nearby area come to a game?  Will anyone on the west side bother to cross the river when they can go to Hillsboro and watch a pro team play during the same months?  Will this bring any new business to the city?  Any new traffic?  As much as I want a stadium and a team in Milwaukie, I don't believe the West Coast League will do much of anything to further Milwaukie's real goals of revitalizing the city.

Spring Training 2012

I just got back from what's becoming an annual trip to the Phoenix area to watch some spring training baseball. I saw two games this year, both at beautiful Salt River Fields.

Salt River Fields is a modern stadium with a roof that lets most fans get out of the sun.

The first was Diamondbacks vs. Giants.  The second Rockies vs. Cubs.  Giants fans came in full regalia.

It takes a brave man to wear shorts like that.

There was plenty of action on the field too.

And, what would a baseball game be without a cold beverage.

Take some advice from these servers.  Try the Devil's Ale.

Who Are the Portland Baseball Fans?

With the city of Milwaukie interested in building a Single-A ballpark, it seems time for Portland-area baseball fans to form some sort of support group to show that people are really interested in having professional baseball return to the metro area.  We have groups such as the Old Timers and and Active Baseball Players Association and the Friends of Baseball. But their missions are really more about supporting youth, high school, and college baseball.  Worthy missions, but not really central to bringing professional baseball back to Portland.

What we really need is something like the Timbers Army, who have had great success promoting professional soccer and who were instrumental in bringing Major League Soccer to Portland.

I recently spoke to Jeremy Wright, one of the original members of the Timbers Army to get his thoughts on what made the Army successful and what an organization of baseball fans should strive for.  Jeremy was adamant that a fan group should be a grass roots, independent organization, one that couldn't possibly be seen as being in the pocket of the city or the team.  He also thought it important to have events that people attend.  Having people, citizens, voters attend city council meetings and task force meetings lets officials see that there are individuals out there who feel strongly enough about a stadium or a team that they band together and attend in force.  These are not abstract fans who may or may not exist and can be ignored.  They are actual flesh-and-blood people who may vote against the current council if they don't like what's happening.  They are people with change in their pockets who might spend it in the community if there's a game to attend.

The Timbers Army makes news by congregating in force in their own sections at Timbers games, decked out in their green scarves, carrying and waving signs, and singing songs.  They congregate in specific bars, social occasions for them.  They rent buses and travel together to away games, with kegs of beer on board.  Their events are unique enough that they become newsworthy.  The Timbers Army was even featured in a recent episode of Portlandia.  And for many people, I suspect, being part of the Timbers Army is a significant part of their social lives.

But do baseball fans have to mimic the actions of the Timbers Army to gain attention?  If they do, I think we're doomed to failure.  I don't have the demographic data on hand, but I believe that Timbers fans, and especially the Timbers Army, skews toward 20-something, single males.  Obviously there are fans who are women and those older and younger than that.  But if we had to specify a typical fan, that would probably be it.  Baseball fans, I believe, tend to be in two other groups -- 55 and older, mostly male, and families with children, especially children involved with organized baseball.  Unlike the typical Timbers Army member, I believe the social lives of most baseball fans are already set.  They're not looking to hang out in brewpubs and make new friends, or if they do, they don't have time for that because of all their family responsibilities.  They don't necessarily want to sit in a special section of the stands with other designated fans, unless those fans happen to be from the same high school or involved in the same little league team.

But baseball fans who want professional ball back in the Portland metro area must do something to let the powers that be know that there is a significant section of the population who want this to happen.  Maybe it's as little as thinking up a group name, producing some caps and T-shirts, and wearing them out in public. Probably it means sacrificing time and coming out in force to some of the Milwaukie city council and task force meetings. But I don't think we can count on parents and seniors milling around in bars or chanting "we are the Rose City" with a group of strangers or coming together for a random photo op.  We've got to figure out something that's appropriate for us, not just clone what the Timbers Army did.

First Game of the Season -- Concordia University

On February 7, 2012, it was a balmy (not) 46 degrees or so for Concordia University's first game of the season, and the first game at their new athletic facility.  In the first game of a doubleheader, the Cavs beat the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes 5-2.  Oh, did I say it was cold?

A bundled-up fan outside Concordia's new athletic complex

But the new facility was very nice.  Some nice chair seats behind home and bench seats past first and third.

A look at some of the new seats in Concordia's baseball configuration.

The field is also used for soccer and until they put up a temporary outfield fence, the distances to right and especially center are immense.  Even a jacked up Barry Bonds couldn't hit one out to center.

It's a long way out to center

The only downside I saw to the new facility is the artificial turf, which extends even to the baselines, the batters box, and the sliding boxes.  The only dirt is on the pitchers mound.  It was amusing to watch a batter step into the box and start to brush the dirt around with his foot, only to realize that there was nothing there to brush except the carpet. Hmm, the little habits we all have.

All in all though, the Concordia facility is a welcome addition to the Portland baseball scene.  And even though it was cold as heck, it was great to be back at the old ballpark.

Old-Timers and Active Baseball Assoc. Banquet

On Saturday, January 14, I was thrilled to attend the 78th annual (can you believe it?) Old-Timers and Active Baseball Association banquet.  What a great way to spend a winter evening, enjoying a meal while listening to Neil Everett (ESPN SportsCenter), Mike Stutes (P, Phillies), Kevin Gregg (P, Orioles), Alex Hinshaw (P, Padres), and Tom Trebelhorn (M, Salem-Keizer) tell stories about their lives in baseball.  The young pitchers (Stutes and Hinshaw) talked about the initiation rites they went through when they were called up to the majors. Stutes talked about the Hello Kitty backpack and red boa he was forced to wear all year, so recognizable that fans started coming to the park wearing boas too.  Hinshaw talked about being messed with by his childhood heroes Barry Zito and Randy Johnson.

Gregg, a 10-year veteran, related the veteran side of player initiation and how he subjected new bullpen members to the old "taser gun testing" gag.  Gregg also told his side of his famous "fight" with David Ortiz last July.  I'll say this about that, I would be nervous in the box if Kevin Gregg decided he was upset with me.

Trebelhorn, former manager of the Brewers and Cubs, was a more polished public speaker.  But his jokes were appropriate for the organization.  They were definitely old-timers.

Everett described his unlikely ascension to ESPN, after spending time in Hawaii chilling out and doing local broadcasts.  He made a case for being prepared when your chance comes.

Over 500 people attended the banquet, which was held at the Multnomah Athletic Club.  Proceeds from the banquet and an annual golf tournament go to grants for youth baseball and college scholarships for worthy students.

Aside from the speakers, there were several other "names" in attendance.  Jack Cain, former owner of the Portland Rockies was there.  As was Dale Murphy, former Atlanta Braves great, who donated a signed Braves jersey to be auctioned off for charity.  Scott Brosius, former A's and Yankees third-baseman, won the jersey with a $600 bid.

Milwaukie City Councilman Joe Loomis was also in attendance, and he spoke for a few minutes about their city's efforts to build a stadium and attract a Single-A team.  He was wearing a Minnesota Twins necktie, and he told me he was originally from Minnesota.  I knew I liked that guy.

This was the first such event I attended, and I confess to not knowing much about the organization before I went.  Thanks to Barbara Pearson and the association for inviting me and treating me like a celebrity.  If you want to learn more about the Association and attend next year's banquet or their golf tournament, go to:

http://www.oldtimersbaseballpdx.org/

Milwaukie City Council Authorizes Phase 2 Stadium Study

During a January 9 special session of the Milwaukie, OR City Council, the council voted 3-2 to move on to phase 2 of a plan to build a Single-A baseball stadium.  Before the vote, the council heard the results of Phase 1 and took citizen input.

The Phase 1 results were in three parts.  First, Innovative Campaign Strategies presented an overview of their community outreach efforts, including the three Listening Lounge sessions and outreach to nearby businesses that might be affected by a new stadium.  The company did not form any conclusions from the data it collected.  Rather it presented an overview of questions and concerns.  As usual, most of them revolved around cost, noise, and lighting.

Second, 360 Architecture presented a report on the feasibility of the site.  This was a very interesting and well-thought out report that concluded that the site does provide enough room for a stadium if some design innovations are included.  Ground water issues prevent the stadium to be dug into the site, and limited east/west dimensions may require a "green monster" wall in the outfield.  They presented three orientations for the ballpark, one orientation to the northeast and two to the southeast.  The second southeast orientation assumes purchase of additional property to the northwest of original space, allowing enough outfield space that a "green monster" wall would not be needed.

They also spoke to lighting and noise concerns.  Lighting, they said would not affect neighbors, and light meters would detect no differences before and after the stadium was built.  Noise would be within City of Milwaukie regulations until 10PM, and then PA systems could be turned down.

Third, a brief cost estimate was presented.  These were very, very rough numbers, based purely on square footage calculations and estimates for utility work and relocation expenses of ODOT.  This worked out to approximately $25M for building costs, another $2M for utility and street work, 25%-20% for consulting and architecture, etc.,  and 10% contingency.

After the Phase 1 results were presented, members of the community voiced in.  The comments ranged from sane and restrained to outrageous and name calling.  One citizen claimed there would be so much goose poop on the field that no one would use it.  Another accused the council of having "a man thing going on." Although council meetings usually draw only staunch supporters or opponents, the rabid reaction of some of the opponents to the stadium (a few people even snarled when a man wearing a "Friends of Baseball" jacket rose to speak) made this reporter doubt that a stadium will ever get built in the City of Milwaukie.

Finally, the council itself discussed the issue and voted.  I was impressed by the intelligence and sensibility of all the council members.  They shared legitimate concerns and seemed truly engaged in trying to find innovative solutions for the problems the city faces.  Though Councilers Dave Hedges and Mike Miller wanted to delay authorizing Phase 2 until issues with Tri-Met and light rail were settled, Mayor Jeremy Ferguson and Councilers Joe Loomis and Greg Chaimov voted to move on to Phase 2.

Phase 2 will involve more public outreach, facility feasibility (figuring out what the ballpark would actually consist of), deciding on an acceptable range of uses for the multi-use facility, doing a real cost analysis, and negotiating with ODOT for the property swap and with the Northwest League for a team.

Phase 2 should be completed by the end of April, at which time a report will be presented and the board will decide whether to put a ballot measure out to the voters.

Here's a link to the report presented to the council.