Where should Juice go ?

[Mr.Ed]

Personally I would like to see the Juice stay in Florida. I like the rivalry series and I am hoping that they could be relocated somewhere in northern FL such as Tallahassee.I would ,eventually,like to see acouple of teams in Alabama.

[heavesrock]

Orlando.-------

[Mr.Ed]

Does Gainesville have a minor league team? If not do they have a facility?
I am impressed with the Juice as a team. They have done pretty good considering they have become a travelling team with no real home.

[JoesFan]

I'd like to see them stay in Forida also, for the same reason. I wonder though if any team other than a MLB team will survive in Florida. The State seems to be pretty well saturated already. Watch a few Marlins or Devil Rays MLB games and you'll see a pretty slim crowd even for the Bigs!
I've heard comments about the Atlanta area, and Spartanburg, SC (which would be cool :cool: ) Gaffney, SC would be good. With all the peaches grown in Gaffney, the team wouldn't have to change their name:-D . Alabama seems a natural fit, for the next two expansion teams!
JoesFan

[kekemortson]

Now, I would like the Juice to be in central or northern Florida first off. A relocation to South Carolina or Eastern Alabama would be OK too.

I do not know the stadium locations or locations of other minor league teams in Florida or Alabama so I can not really comment on these states.


South Carolina has (SAL teams in Charleston & Greenville)&(CPL teams in Spartanburg, Florence, & Columbia)&(SCL teams in Aiken & Anderson)& The Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League. Where else is available in SC? Rock Hill is too close to Charlotte and their AAA team.

As far as Georgia is concerned, I know there are SAL teams in Columbus, Savannah, Rome, and Augusta. Macon is alrady home to a SCL team (Macon Music). Warner Robins does not have a stadium for a minor league baseball team. What would be the situation (stadium availability/ city size) be for say, Valdosta, Tifton, Athens, or Brunswick? A suburb of Atlanta (not near Rome) would be perfect.

Ideas? Suggestions?

[JoesFan]

Just focusing on SC:
Spartanburg has Duncan Park - built in 1927
Greenwood has Legion Field, which used to be home to a Braves affiliated team. Nowadays it's used by American Legion teams and Lander College, I think. But Greenwood is only an hour from Anderson, so it may be too close.
I don't know if a field is availbale, but a City that really needs some good baseball is the Capitol City of Columbia, SC!

[heavesrock]

Orlando PEOPLE! It's a big market. Even only half the city knows about the team that's about as many people as in all the other markets in the league. Some renovations to Tinker Field and you have a historic facility to play in!


PS-I believe Duncan Park was recently demolished.

[beetm]

I like the idea of The Florida panhandle. (Out of the glut of GCL teams) Is it true that Tallahasee doesn't have a team? I'm thinking that would be a good market for the long term.

[Mr.Ed]

The Florida panhandle seems like an obviously good location.I've also thought that Dothan AL would be a good location if they have a facility.
What would it cost me to build a first class 5,000 seat stadium anyway?

[Mr.Ed]

If they did eventually stick a team in Dothan they could be referred to as the L.A.(Lower Alabama) Riot or maybe the Dothan Alley Bamers

[Grrrowlguy]

Maybe upper florida in jacksonville or tallahasee. Give the college fans something to do until football starts.

[Mr.Ed]

Jacksonville has the Suns so that isn't a possibility.Tallahassee or Gainesville might be good locations.Orlando has enough baseball already.
Maybe the Pensacola Pelicans would want to switch leagues.

[heavesrock]

What's "Enough Baseball" for Orlando?

[Mr.Ed]

I thought they had a minor league team. I guess i am wrong.Orlando would probably be a great location and they could still use the Juice name.Maybe using O.J. Simpson as the mascott might get the SCL some attention.If he can take time from looking for the real killer(s).

[Mr.Ed]

I have noticed a real sarcastic, almost smart-ass tone to my most recent posts.If I offend any of you,TOUGH SH!TI

[JoesFan]

I have noticed a real sarcastic, almost smart-ass tone to my most recent posts.If I offend any of you,TOUGH SH!TI
I like your sense of humor :rolleyes: at least I assumed you were joking ...:mrgreen:

[Mr.Ed]

Any word on Indy leagues that might fold and free up a town for SCL expasion ?Are there any affiliated cities that are losing a team ?
After moving the Juice will the SCL want to expand as soon as 2009 ?'09 is what I had previously heard .Is that too soon?

[Mr.Ed]

Has anyone heard anything new on where the Juice might go?
What is the timetable for making an announcement?
Might they"stay" in Bradenton as a travel team and use Charlotte County's stadium from time to time ?

[beetm]

Expansion in '09 is the last I heard also, as for any news on where The Juice are going, there's nothing definite coming out of Conyers yet.

[Mr.Ed]

Would Conyers be a candidate for expansion ?
I know that SCL mangement was talking about possibly expanding to a suburb of Hotlanta.I don't know if Conyers has a facility though.
With all the money floating around the Atlanta area you would think one of those towns would have a nice stadium or one on the way.Newnan could be another possibility.The Newnan, Peachtree City & Fayetteville areas are really growing.

[beetm]

Or maybe tap into the wealth (and desire to be seperate and independent from Atlanta) in The Northern Suburbs. Roswell, Alpharetta etc.

[Mr.Ed]

Let us just hope that which ever city/town that the SCL selects for the Juice to play in they get plenty of media exposure and plenty of fans.It would be real nice if they could find an area to draw 2,000 a night.
I am hoping that all the rainouts don't hurt actual attendance.

[Mr.Ed]

Looks like the Juice might be a road team next year.
I would assume they will drop Bradenton from their title but they can't be called simply "Juice" ;can they?
How about:
South Coast Juice ?
Travelling Juice?
Wandering Juice ?
Road Juice ?
Any other ideas?

[JoesFan]

I've been trying to resist, but I just can't stop ...

Maybe they could get a major team sponsor, then they could be:

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice

Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice (no pulp)

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Juice

Well, you get the idea...

Not to make light of the subject. I really hope these guys find a home! :)

[kekemortson]

I really hate that it didn't work out in Bradenton and Charlotte County for the long term. I hope this gets resolved soon because I do not know how much more of Mr.Ed and JoesFan:shock: I can take with their
"Road Show"!:eek:

[Nuckinfuts]

I also like the two teams from each state so far, so I'm all for FLA, preferably Central to North FL.

[LHSTrojan]

I live in Tallahassee and I can tell you that it would be a great location for a minor league team. It nearly happened a few years ago when the TB affiliate in Orlando bailed, but instead the team relocated to Montgomery because of land issues. Tallahassee is already a big baseball town with FSU, which draws an average attendance of 4,000 a game.

The city itself has about 200,000 residents and has expressed interest as of late in pursuing a minor league team to move here. I think that the SCL would be a perfect fit, especially with Albany and Macon already in the league. For those of you who have never been to Tally, we have a saying that we're much more like South Georgia than North Florida. This has its benefits. It means that we love our sports and draw large crowds to sporting events, but can still relate with any other teams in Florida. Currently, the only sports franchise in the city are the Titans, an arena football team that began this year and drew an average of over 5,000 fans per game; the highest attendance in the league. In the past. we've had a very successful minor league hockey affiliate (the Tallahassee Tigersharks).

As for facilities, there are three great options that the city could present an SCL team. There is the 6.500 seat Dick Howser Stadium that the Seminoles play in (just refurbished 3 years ago), but will probably be tied up at the beginning of each season due to postseason play. However, my personal favorite is Eagle Field at Tallahassee Community College. The stadium currently seats about 500-1,000 but there is a ton of room for easy expansion, and there are already huge parking lots around the facility along with concession stands and a press booth. The finaly option would be to build a new stadium, which the city has discussed doing if the opportunity arose. There are some spaces downtown that would be perfect, or on the northside of town along the developing corridor between Tallahassee and Thomasville, GA. In the end, the city and the people really want a team. It's just a matter of the right people getting connected. If the league and the city were able to get in contact quick enough, I think that the Juice could easily be playing in Tallahassee by the beginning of the next season.

[LHSTrojan]

In the next few years I would love to see the league continue to expand. A "perfect" SCL in 2-3 years would include teams in Aiken SC, Anderson SC, Columbia SC, Macon GA, Albany GA, Valdosta GA, Panama City FL, and Tallahassee FL. There are also some sites in NC that might be reasonable. I love Orlando, and have a lot of relatives that live in Oviedo (a suburb), but a problem with that city is that it simply does not draw well for baseball. Tampa Bay had a minor league team there a few years ago that they moved because of low attendance. There are simply too many other attractions in the area for people to decide to go to a baseball game. Another problem is weather. In Central and South Florida it rains most every summer afternoon because of sea breazes that cross from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Here in the Panhandle, we do not receice nearly as strong of sea breeze and thus it doesn't rain as often. Someone mentioned Gainesville as a possibility, and I agree that it would be a great site for some parts of the year. The problem, though, is that no one lives in Gainesville during the summer when the university is out. People could make the same argument for Tallahassee, but as I mentioned before 200,000 people live here year round. One other potential problem with both Gainesville and Orlando is that starting next year they are both playing host to an AAFL football team, which will be playing during the summer, and will be a major subtractor from any league in those cities. I just read the post about Port Charlotte's situation. It's too bad they'll probably be leaving in the next few years because of the other arriving franchise. One possibility for that team might be Naples, but I don't know if they have any good facilities. If not, I'd move the team closer to the other franchises to cut back on travel expenses.

[kekemortson]

I would love to see the two Florida teams (Bradenton & Port Charlotte) relocate to Tallahassee & Panama City/Ft. Walton area. I don't know about a team playing in a stadium for a community college or where a college team plays due to alcohol sales, etc. That was part of the reason Bradenton didn't draw too well.

Tallahassee Lassies (girls in bikini's for a mascot:eek: )

I still like Valdosta as a GA expansion site. Not that familiar with the area as far as a stadium, etc. Columbus, Savannah, Rome, and Augusta are already home to minor league teams. Not sure where else is viable. Would have to be Athens or an Atlanta suburb.

[Mr.Ed]

I hope that we do keep both FL teams in FL.
I am not in favor of a team in NC.NC has a lot of minor league teams already.
I would prefer to see Alabama get a team over NC.
Does Tennessee have a good location for a SCL team?

[LHSTrojan]

Another FL location that I forgot to mention as a potential site is Ocala. This might be a good draw because Ocala is fairly close to Gainesville and Orlando. I don't know about facilities though. Same with Valdosta... I know that they used to have a rookie summer league team back in the 80's, but I'm not sure if they played in their own stadium, at Valdosta State, or at one of the high schools. As for Tennessee, I agree with Mr. Ed that a team there would fit well with the league. When I was trying to think of locations it was hard, though, because it seems like the state is fairly saturated with other teams. Even Kingsport has a rookie level team. I like Alabama too, the most promising sites in that state, in my eyes, would be Dothan and Tuscaloosa. There are a lot of fun things you could do with that name: Tuscaloosa Mastadons, Mammoths, etc.

I like the Tallahassee Lassies idea :) you have a good knowledge of the area!

[ejenson]

They should put the team in Gainsville....I think they could also go into Orlando or even Citrus County..