Milwaukie Residents Sound Off on Baseball

On October 27, the City of Milwaukie hosted the first of three Listening Lounges to solicit opinions of Milwaukie residents about a possible baseball stadium in their community.  Milwaukie mayor Jeremy Ferguson was there, along with all but one of the Milwaukie city council.  Approximately 40 people attended the event, and everyone was allowed a minute or two to voice their opinions.

It seemed to me before the meeting started that pro-baseball supporters were in the majority, simply by the number of baseball caps and jackets being worn.  But opinions pro and con were voiced.

From those who were for a stadium in Milwaukie:

• Milwaukie's current image sucks.  People think of the Acropolis (a strip joint) when they think of Milwaukie.  A baseball stadium could revive the city's image.
• A stadium and a team could build community pride.
• A stadium would spur other economic growth in the area, along with the new Max line coming in.
• We shouldn't be afraid of progress.
• Noise and light levels will affect only a few people.  The stadium will be good for a greater number.
• (Concerning noise and light issues) "Ghost towns don't have airports and ballparks."
• A stadium offers benefits that can't be measured.
• (From the mayor) The stadium site (currently an ODOT facility) would add land to the tax rolls, and perhaps be incentive for other stores to locate to the area and provide more taxes.

From those who had concerns about building a stadium:

• Studies show that bringing in minor league baseball doesn't aid in the economic growth of the area.
• A stadium would add noise and light pollution to the neighborhood.
• Additional infrastructure would be needed (sewer, water, larger fire trucks, etc.)
• Why spend money for this when streets need fixing, education funding is needed, and children are going hungry.
• How is a stadium that hosts only 40 games a year going to be profitable for the city?

One interesting concern was the orientation of the stadium.  As planned, it faces east, into the community, as opposed to west, toward McGloughlin Blvd.  One person asked why it couldn't be switched so the noise would be toward the highway instead of the community.  I pointed out that the rules of baseball strongly suggest that stadiums be laid out generally to the east, so that batters aren't blinded by late afternoon sun.  But another person also noted that most of the noise of a stadium is caused by PA systems, not by crowd noise.  In the current configuration, crowd noise would be aimed at the community, but the PA system, would be aimed back at the crowd, toward McGloughlin.  Thus the current orientation is actually better for noise control.

All in all, a good meeting, and, in my opinion, positive for baseball.

Milwaukie Seeks Input on New Stadium

The city of Milwaukie has scheduled three meetings in which residents can voice their opinions about the possibility of a new baseball stadium in Milwaukie.  The sessions will be approximately one hour in length and will be prefaced by a progress report on the city's efforts.  The sessions will be held at:

• October 27th, 6:00PM at the Ardenwald Elementary School cafeteria
• November 9th, 6:00PM at the Milwaukie Elementary School cafeteria
• November 17th, 6:00PM at eh Linwood Elementary School cafeteria

Read more about this at OregonLive.

Escondido Given More Time to Approve Ballpark

The Portland Beavers eventual move to Escondido was thought to be thwarted when the community decided not to fund a ballpark.  However, the owner has decided to give them until January to change their mind.

Read more here.

Milwaukie Makes Progress on Stadium

The Milwaukie City Council authorized three companies to investigate whether it's feasible to build a minor league baseball stadium in the city, bypassing a longer, more time-consuming formal bid process.  Baby steps maybe, but forward moving ones.  I still haven't heard anything about Vancouver's progress with the Yakima Bears.  Apparently, their exclusive negotiating agreement expired on September 20.

Read more about the Milwaukie stadium process at OregonLive.com

Biggest Collapse: Atlanta, Boston, or Maybe Minnesota?

The playoffs are finally here, and if the last day of the regular season is any indication, they'll be exciting.  But while all the attention has been on the stunning collapse of the Red Sox and Braves, to this Twins fan, the collapse of the 2011 Twins was just as epic.  Worse, it took much longer sit through.

Last season, the Twins were 94-68, the third best record in the AL, and won the Central Division.  This year they were 63-99, worst in the AL, with only an epic pitching performance by Carl Pavano saving them from a 100-loss season.  Injuries and the loss of bullpen stalwarts did them in. As did poor fielding and lack of desire in the final months. But unlike the Red Sox and Braves, it may be many seasons before they recover.  To me, that's just sad.

As for the playoffs, in the NL I'll be pulling for the Brewers.  In the AL, it's ABY (anybody but Yankees).

Bears to Play in Yakima in 2012

As reported in the Vancouver Columbian, the Single-A Bears will continue to play in Yakima during the 2012 season.  They are still trying to work out a deal with Vancouver for a stadium there, and have exclusive negotiating rights with Vancouver and Portland until September 23.  But even if a stadium deal is approved, there's not enough time to ready a new stadium for the 2012 season.

On the Milwaukie front, officials there have been meeting with all the Northwest League teams about possible relocation.  Although some have speculated that there might be territorial rights issues between a team in Vancouver and one in Milwaukie, the real issue for Milwaukie is the Salem-Kaiser team.  The territorial rights prevent a team from locating in a county adjacent to the county where another team already resides.  Clackamas County, where Milwaukie's stadium would be built, is adjacent to Marion County, where the Salem-Kaiser stadium is.

Vancouver Stadium Admission Tax Gets Hearing

The folks in Clark County are pushing forward with their baseball proposal, holding a public hearing on the admissions tax that will be used to fund the new stadium, according to this article in the Columbian Newspaper. The hearing will be held at the regular county commissioners' meeting on Tuesday, September 20.  According to the article, the Yakima Bears have exclusive negotiating rights to the entire Portland/Vancouver area, but those rights expire in three weeks unless progress is made.  If the commissioners approve an admissions tax, that would be enough to retain the rights.

It sounds like even with the admissions tax, there could be a 30 percent funding shortfall.  So more work would be needed.

Although some people have speculated that a team in Vancouver would have territorial rights that would prevent Milwaukie from obtaining a team too, this is the first time I've seen that in print.  It will be interesting to see what, if any, response Milwaukie makes to up the ante.