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As most of you know by now, the Tucson Sidewinders will probably be moving to Reno in 2009. I don't understand this move, as Reno has been a horrible pro sports town. Their WCHL franchise folded after only one or two seasons. They used to have a Class A baseball team in the California League, which they lost. They now have an independent team in the Golden Baseball Leage which draws poorly at the gate. What makes these investors think that the people of Reno will support this AAA team? Reno is a bit of a dump, and it seems that the people of Reno don't care much about minor league sports.
They may draw well for the first year or year and a half due to the novelty of a new team and new stadium, but I guarantee that after that they'll be one of the lowest drawing teams in the PCL, if not the lowest.
Will these new owners wake up and smell the coffee before it's too late? If ANYTHING these new owners should consider helping the team stay in Tucson but try to move them downtown to a new stadium as part of the downtown revitalization project. This would also help Tucson regain additional state-of-the-art spring training venues for Major League teams.
That's my hope, but I feel that these new owners are thinking otherwise.
Hopefully they'll see the light in time. If not, they'll soon learn the hard way in Reno with an empty stadium and a lease signed with the city forcing them to stay in that hell hole of a city for way too long.
If Tucson loses the Sidewinders, I can only hope that their city council wakes up and aggresively moves to build a better stadium downtown near their new proposed arena. They should then go after one of the weaker PCL franchises in an attempt to relocate it such as Colorado Springs.
If you think Reno itself is a dump, you should have seen Moana Stadium. That place was never going to hold a team.
Problem is... Tucson lost a WCHL team midseason in the second year (Reno lasted 3 IIRC), had a CHL team fail opening day, and the Sidewinders have been in or close to the basement of PCL attendance for a long time. In reality, the investors looking at Reno are probably asking what the difference is. The difference is probably Reno offering a better deal for a new stadium.
They're going to take it on faith that the stadium will be a drawing card. It's a risk, to be sure. So are the other options.
Tucson is losing their baseball team and its two fans can do nothing but disparage the town that actually wants the team. Interestingly enough, its hard to believe that someone living in Tucson would actually speak negatively about another city. Wow, you really need to get out.
Reno has grown up and is hungry for baseball of this caliber. Give the people of Northern Nevada a team and a new stadium and I can assure you that they will not squander it.
So go on and continue whining while Reno gets a new team and will prove all the naysayers wrong. As for Tucson.... hard to believe that life even exists there.
This league (NIFL) is like a frickin' cockroach. You could throw a nuclear bomb at it and it would still survive
-tony-o
So I'd rather spend a quarter of an ABA franchise to repair my car, as opposed to spending a franchise and a half to get a new car that might have some planned obsolescence that causes it to break down 5 days after the end of the warranty period.
-Chuck the Writer
I've seen the growth of Reno. I live in Boise, I get around.
This gets pub at the Gazette-Journal, and the public responses are mostly about how downtown sucks. What Reno baseball has to overcome is LOCAL perceptions.
BTW, I think the growth around Reno IS the problem. It's unmitigated sprawl. People who buy into that usually aren't necessarily enthused by the thought of going downtown, any downtown, any city, and the fact that downtown Reno is at least as much a tourist hub makes that doubly a problem. Downtown is a nice fixer-upper, in my opinion, and if the ballpark comes off, it really helps overcome that... but will the target population ever know?
If you look at attendance records, the difference between the Toros at Hi Corbett and the Sidewinders at the new place is next to nothing. They announced around 4000 a game at the old place for years and have announced around 4000 a game for years at the new place. So don't blame the new ballpark and its location.
As someone who's only been to a game in Tucson once, my first opinion as to why they never drew what a AAA team should... it's just too damn hot. That simple. Do I want to sit outside and sweat for three hours when I could sit inside and sweat? Nooo. You can say Tucson isn't a 'baseball town' and who knows if that's true, but you can also say the people of Tucson aren't dumb enough to go sit in the 110 degree heat for three or four hours a night and bake.
I looked at the Sidewinders' promotions - nothing groundbreaking there, but it's not bad. They are probably doing about all they can do to get people there, but damn... it's Arizona in the Summer. People in Arizona stay inside in the summer and play outside in the winter. When Phoenix had a PCL team, they didn't draw for crap in the summer either. So don't blame people who don't enjoy sweating all night.
The old owner complained constantly about how he was taking it in the shorts and losing tons of money every year. That I doubt - not even a mediocre businessman loses tons of money every year and keeps doing it. However, he was probably not making the kind of money to keep him owning the team for the rest of his life, and when the new owners offered twice what he paid for the team, he was a fool not to take it. Can't blame him for that.
And from what I can gather, the new owners are getting a new stadium that they control, and a pretty major basket of cash from Reno just to show up. So don't blame them for taking it.
Whether Reno is 'deserving' or 'ready for' a AAA team doesn't make a lick of difference, they are getting one. The new owners (who happen to be restauranteurs/investors, not baseball people) will rake in money for a couple of years, sell the team to the next investor for $5 million more than they paid for it, and walk away happy. It's the American Way, and you can't blame them for that either.
You can't blame the fans for not showing up, you can't blame the old owner for selling and you can't blame the new owners for taking the money and going to Reno.
So who's to blame for the Sidewinders leaving? Nobody - except whoever controls the temperature.
Well in Tucson in at night, I don't think it's bad at all. I don't really mind the day temperatures either, but maybe that's my Arizona blood. Wouldn't want to stay out all day, but a few hours out I'm fine. Not everyone for I understand though. The more interest I talked about was not really about attendance, which I believe was slightly better. But the town was more interested, the stadium more full due to a smaller park so it looked more full.
Tucson is losing their baseball team and its two fans can do nothing but disparage the town that actually wants the team. Interestingly enough, its hard to believe that someone living in Tucson would actually speak negatively about another city. Wow, you really need to get out.
Reno has grown up and is hungry for baseball of this caliber. Give the people of Northern Nevada a team and a new stadium and I can assure you that they will not squander it.
So go on and continue whining while Reno gets a new team and will prove all the naysayers wrong. As for Tucson.... hard to believe that life even exists there.
Peace
First of all, I'm not a Tucson fan, nor do I live in Tucson. I've been to both Tucson and Reno on many occasions, and my comments are based on my observations of both cities. If I had to pick one of the cities, I'd definitely pick to live in Tucson over Reno. Downtown Reno is a dump. They couldn't even support a single A team. The problem with this new owner is that he's just looking for a quick, short term profit, as someone else mentioned. That may be the "American way", but it's an unethical way and highly disturbing. So he moves the team to Reno, makes a few quick bucks, and sells the team off. Then you have a triple A team in a crappy city with no fans and the franchise is in a much worse state than it was in Tucson.
I'd take a nice, dry hot night in the beautiful Sonoran desert than a night in dirty and dangerous downtown Reno surrounded by dilapidated casinos any day.
Tucson Sidewinders Probably Moving to Reno
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