Goodbye Laredo, hello Salina?

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ca
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Wichita

Post by ca » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:43 pm

Is Wichita looking at a renovation of its current park or do they want a new one elsewhere ?

suge night
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Post by suge night » Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:32 pm

The mayor is gently pushing them aside for an affiliated team, The Wingnuts owner is doing all he can to stay but its clear the city doesn't want them a new stadium is in the works but not for the Wingnuts, a sell is probably out of the question as well why would any one buy them when they would have to relocate them anyway.

Conversation around second base is that either of the two struggling Texas teams could go away, maybe not so much in a sense in Cleburne the city owns the team name so without buying that away the new team would still be called the same, so the question is would the Wingnuts really be interested in doing that.

Recent happening's around the subject of Wingnuts and stadium below :!: NKSPORTS will probably fill in a few more details at some point to this question.

The city is planning a special taxing district to generate to generate tens of millions of dollars to replace or dramatically renovate the aging Lawrence-Dumont Stadium with hopes of landing an affiliated tenant team.

Wichita has been without a MLB affiliated team since the Wranglers left for Springdale, Ark., in 2007.

The Wingnuts, the current baseball tenant at Lawrence-Dumont, plays in an independent league that is not part of MLB’s farm-team system.

The council also voted to spend as much as $200,000 on stadium repairs if necessary for the Wingnuts to play the 2018 season.

About $8,000 to $15,000 of that will go to pay for a structural analysis. The remaining $185,000 or more is authorized to pay for any repairs necessary to maintain the safety of stadium patrons, said Alan King, public works director.

He said his staff does not expect that any major structural problems will be found.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-gov ... rylink=cpy
Last edited by suge night on Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by suge night » Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:22 am

A little Halloween :eek:

The mayor of Cleburne keeps the laughs going for this outfit, he goes on local Dallas TV and proclaim the following.

WFAA-TV
55 mins ·

"In a way, the Cleburne DNA is in Houston," said Garey Wylie.

111 years ago, the Astros baseball club called Cleburne home
The team long-known as the Houston Astros actually started in Cleburne as the Railroaders in the early 1900s.
wfaa.com

Comments
Alex Posani
Alex Posani A minor league franchise moves to Houston. Then, 50+ years later, the NL grants an expansion franchise to Houston.

Sorry, mayor, but it's 2 different organizations.

suge night
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Post by suge night » Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:27 am

News report


Eventually, the Railroaders finished on top of the highly favored Fort Worth Panthers and won the 1906 Texas League pennant. The Texas League wanted to grant a spot in the league to Cleburne for the next season but only if there was sufficient financial backup. But the team had not drawn that well, even if it was a championship caliber team. Because of this, Afbeeldingsresultaat voor Doak Robertsthe Cleburne businessmen that cooperated with Doak Roberts and Charles Thacker were not interested in investing money into the team anymore.
This was the deathblow to the team and Doak Roberts took the team with him and moved it elsewhere. Likely he took the team
back to Corsicana where it played in the North Texas League as the Oilers.

Doak Roberts would become the president of the Texas League in 1920 and would keep that position until his death in 1929. Before he was elected president of the Texas League, Roberts would manage several teams.

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Post by nksports » Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:22 am

[quote=""ca""]Is Wichita looking at a renovation of its current park or do they want a new one elsewhere ?[/quote]

A new park at the same location as the old park. The superstructure for Lawrence-Dumont dates back to 1934, although it has been remodeled a couple of times. The last major remodel was at the insistence of the Kansas City Royals when their AA team was there. The outfield walls were reconfigured to be closer to Kauffman Stadium (because of space issues, it was slightly different). Because there used to be an active railroad line along McLains Blvd., which goes around the back of the stadium, the old dimensions were (to the best of my recollection) 317 to right field line, about 325 to the right power alley, then 405 to dead center, 425 to the left power ally (any pro player or NBC player without college eligibility remaining hitting the Marlboro Man there got $500) and about 325 to left field line.
It has been all turf for several years now (it was one of the first stadiums ever to have a turf infield and a grass outfield). Some purists don't like it, but there are close to 200 games a year played there, so the grass was gone by the end of the season.
As far as I know, there are no structural deficiencies. It's just kind of dated. The clubhouse is in pretty bad shape, but it's a separate building beyond the left field wall. The old clubhouses behind the dugouts were stripped long ago. They are only used during the NBC, more or less as a place for teams to store their gear.
The NBC, for the uninitiated, is a tournament for mainly summer college teams, although some national teams are invited. A team of ex-MLB players played the last two years to boost attendance. There are 30 teams from about a dozen leagues that compete. It lasts two weeks and the Wingnuts go on an extended road trip during that time.
In March, April and May, high school, junior college and small college games are played there. The state junior college tournament (NJCAA Division I, Region VI) is sometimes played there. Friends University and Newman University may play the occasional game there. High school regional tournaments are played at the facilities. Every once in a while, a state tournament is held there, but in the last few years, those have moved to college and smaller municipal stadiums (such as the home of the Salina Stockade).
The plans are for a new stadium to be ready by about 2020. The stadium site is in the Delano District, which already has a lot of shopping, dining and bars. It is across the river from another shopping and hotel district (although the biggest tenant of that shopping area, Gander Mountain, just went out of business).
The stadium has ample FREE parking, which is also used for commuter parking for downtown workers and overflow parking for Intrust Bank Arena (about 8 blocks away) with shuttle buses. There is a premium lot for season ticket holders, although anyone else can park there for $5. The city ice rink is right across the street.
The Wingnuts get pretty good attendance between the end of Wichita State's season and the start of the NBC. Wichita State used to be the king of area spring sports, but that program has kind of fell on hard times since coach Stephenson, who won a CWS, retired.
There is kind of a baseball burnout after the NBC and attendance drops again. Wingnut playoff attendance has always been pretty bad, but high school sports start by then.
I should add that the USL has talked to the city about use of the stadium when the USL III starts up (just give us the Swope Park Rangers. They don't draw diddly in KC and if Sporting needs a player, it's just a three-hour drive).
Last edited by nksports on Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by suge night » Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:23 pm

Implode alert



Malcolm Farmer, a Neltex representative, on Wednesday praised Fenyes’ contribution to the Railroaders but also confirmed the change of presidency.

“This is sports,” Farmer said. “And, after every season, you evaluate what went right and what didn’t. We love Robbie and he was the right man to launch the team. He poured his heart and soul into making the Railroaders’ first season back a successful season.

“That said, Robbie will remain part of the team but we’re going with [current Railroaders Assistant General Manager Bill Adams] as the general manager going forward,” Farmer said.

Farmer, when asked whether Fenyes’ continuing position with the organization will be with the Railroaders or with Neltex, which owns several other sports teams, simply said that Fenyes will continue to be welcomed to Railroaders’ games. Farmer, when reached again later for comment, clarified that Fenyes retains an ownership interest in the team but is no longer employed by them.

Fenyes on Wednesday morning called Farmer’s claim that he was still connected to the Railroaders or Neltex a “very weird statement.”

“I don’t have a job with Neltex or the Railroaders,” Fenyes said. “I don’t have a job offer and don’t have a paycheck after Friday. My email goes away and I have nothing to do with Neltex. The only thing I can think of is that I have a very, very small ownership percentage in the team but am no longer employed by them.”

Adams on Wednesday confirmed that he has been named the team’s general manager.

“We’re excited about the 2018 season and working toward it already,” Adams said.

For sale?

Farmer denied that the Railroaders are for sale.


“I would say those rumors are just that,” Farmer said. “The team is not actively for sale. We’re in the cream of the crop when it comes to stadiums. It’s brand new. Right now the St. Paul Saints’ stadium is considered a cut above and the benchmark but we’re confident that within a short time The Depot is going to be included in that same vein.”

Fenyes, however, said the sale rumors are true.

“They asked me [in October] to try to find a buyer and have been engaging in trying to sell the team,” Fenyes said.

Cain also contradicted Farmer’s statement.

“We know Donnie is considering selling,” Cain said. “What he’s expressed to me is that he’s looking to see if he can find the right fit for an ownership group that will manage it and take care of those day-to-day things so he can move on to doing something else.

I added this part so you could clearly understand that the mayor's statement about the city having no input on what happens from the cities perspective if a sale happens, the city has some responsibility upon what will happen in a sale. In the full article the mayor states the city has no involvement in a sale of the team but that is not true.

Stadium Lease Agreement


Article 18.14 Proceeds from sale of Baseball Team

If Tenant assigns its rights under the Franchise Agreement or sells the baseball team that plays on the Demised Premises (and Tenant shall be permitted to make such assignment or sale only as otherwise permitted by this lease) then upon the consummation of such assignment or sale. Tenant shall pay Landloard cash in the amount equal to the lesser of twenty five percent (25%) of the net profit (according to GAAP) received by Tenant and or its Affiliates in connection with the assignment or sale, or $250,000.

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Post by nksports » Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:03 am

[quote=""suge night""]Stadium Lease Agreement


Article 18.14 Proceeds from sale of Baseball Team

If Tenant assigns its rights under the Franchise Agreement or sells the baseball team that plays on the Demised Premises (and Tenant shall be permitted to make such assignment or sale only as otherwise permitted by this lease) then upon the consummation of such assignment or sale. Tenant shall pay Landloard cash in the amount equal to the lesser of twenty five percent (25%) of the net profit (according to GAAP) received by Tenant and or its Affiliates in connection with the assignment or sale, or $250,000.[/quote]

It won't be 25% of profits. I doubt if there were any profits.

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Post by BaseballKid3 » Sat Jan 13, 2018 5:35 am

Something is stirring in the AA! Let's see who can come up with what it is!

It's not the Wichita GM stepping down and contrary to what you guys think, it is not either of the Texas teams folding.
Last edited by BaseballKid3 on Sat Jan 13, 2018 5:48 am, edited 5 times in total.

ca
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Would it be ...

Post by ca » Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:06 am

The tx teams moving ? Btw I don't think they can go to the beer city

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Post by BaseballKid3 » Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:21 pm

No, no teams are moving or folding.

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