Investment group looking at bringing minor league baseball to Town Madison development (Birmingham: city hall, restaurants)

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by FCEddie

Baseball stadium - 5-7k seats, would be great.

As mentioned before, host hs baseball games, and go for a couple of college tournaments...

1) UAH games or conference championships,

2) Battle of Alabama schools vs TN, MS, LA, GA, etc - invite teams from the states to play against Alabama, Auburn and UAB in a three day tournament. 3 games a day in March/April.

Potential for concert venue has been mentioned - perfect for September/October.

Easily the WORST idea for TM.

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

SEC football > Minor league baseball in Alabama. Always has, always will.

Not to mention many of us have deep ties to those schools, so its not just about going to watch a football game.

Ok. I know it's slightly OT but everyone moans and groans things take too long to drive. But yet many if the same complainers are wanting upscale shopping and more draw to the area. But it takes a few minutes to drive? We can't have what big cities have if we aren't going to have big city problems.

What I really see here is no one really wants a baseball team,. What they really want are the other perks, such s new shopping, bars, it restaurants that would support the area.

[FCEddie]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

Easily the WORST idea for TM.

Heck, put the stadium on the corner of Mooresville Road and I-565.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by FCEddie

Heck, put the stadium on the corner of Mooresville Road and I-565.

That'll work.

[Justin Scott]

Serious question. What happened to the proposed Oasis? If the proposed site and Town Madison are close.....they should collaborate and build something that incorporates both projects. I'm unfamiliar with both projects.

[cgrab]

Originally Posted by NoleFanHSV

What I really see here is no one really wants a baseball team,.

Hey NoleFanHSV, I want baseball when I was stationed in Portsmouth VA we would take the ferry to see the Tides along with hundreds of others and sometimes eat in the stadium restaurant but did little downtown.


One of the thinks I liked about going to ballgames in Cleveland was the easy exit after the games.


Having the stadium near a 565 exit/entrance is more important to me than the local bar scene.


Yea, I'm probably alone on all of this, but how many retired-Marine-Colonel-rocket-scientist are there, so I'm used to being alone.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by Justin Scott

Serious question. What happened to the proposed Oasis? If the proposed site and Town Madison are close.....they should collaborate and build something that incorporates both projects. I'm unfamiliar with both projects.

I'm not sure that was ever a seriously proposed project. Reportedly the website has been taken down.

[JakeWilliams]

Baseball in HUN could be viable if the stadium was downtown. Town Madison will not work due to the lack of other stuff in that location.

I go to Regions Field 1 game per year and stay at the Marriott near UAB. I can walk the 0.7 miles before and after the game and feel completely safe doing so. I would not walk the same distance from a ballfield downtown (thinking about the old Coke site) to Campus 805. You do not get the feeling that you are safe walking that way, same with walking from Lowe Mill to Campus 805. There are some good things in that area but it's a driving area, not a walking area.

The Stars failed because their ownership did not care about Huntsville. I would worry that the same thing would happen with an ownership group only caring about investment and flipping the team in a few years. If they can make the games an event like the Barons do (fun stuff between every inning, nice stadium with lots of things to do besides watch the game) or the Havoc do, then they could make MiLB popular in HUN again. Even if the team isn't great, making it a fun outing at a decent price will help them be successful.

Plus some people (especially in this thread) just aren't baseball fans. They don't see how a minor league team could do well.

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by JakeWilliams

Baseball in HUN could be viable if the stadium was downtown. Town Madison will not work due to the lack of other stuff in that location.

I go to Regions Field 1 game per year and stay at the Marriott near UAB. I can walk the 0.7 miles before and after the game and feel completely safe doing so. I would not walk the same distance from a ballfield downtown (thinking about the old Coke site) to Campus 805. You do not get the feeling that you are safe walking that way, same with walking from Lowe Mill to Campus 805. There are some good things in that area but it's a driving area, not a walking area.

The Stars failed because their ownership did not care about Huntsville. I would worry that the same thing would happen with an ownership group only caring about investment and flipping the team in a few years. If they can make the games an event like the Barons do (fun stuff between every inning, nice stadium with lots of things to do besides watch the game) or the Havoc do, then they could make MiLB popular in HUN again. Even if the team isn't great, making it a fun outing at a decent price will help them be successful.

Plus some people (especially in this thread) just aren't baseball fans. They don't see how a minor league team could do well.

Downtown has been the desired location ever since and before the Stars left. Only way it will happen is if significant private investment comes forward. The city is not in the baseball business without private dollars.
The Coke site would seem to be ideal, but the newly adopted downtown master plan shows other types of development along the Clinton corridor. Of course that can change. The coming VBC expansion also plays into the Clinton gateway development

[FCEddie]

Originally Posted by JakeWilliams

Baseball in HUN could be viable if the stadium was downtown. Town Madison will not work due to the lack of other stuff in that location.

I go to Regions Field 1 game per year and stay at the Marriott near UAB. I can walk the 0.7 miles before and after the game and feel completely safe doing so. I would not walk the same distance from a ballfield downtown (thinking about the old Coke site) to Campus 805. You do not get the feeling that you are safe walking that way, same with walking from Lowe Mill to Campus 805. There are some good things in that area but it's a driving area, not a walking area.

The Stars failed because their ownership did not care about Huntsville. I would worry that the same thing would happen with an ownership group only caring about investment and flipping the team in a few years. If they can make the games an event like the Barons do (fun stuff between every inning, nice stadium with lots of things to do besides watch the game) or the Havoc do, then they could make MiLB popular in HUN again. Even if the team isn't great, making it a fun outing at a decent price will help them be successful.

Plus some people (especially in this thread) just aren't baseball fans. They don't see how a minor league team could do well.

Isn't the population of the metro area moving westward? I see new subdivisions popping up all over Madison and Limestone County, but for me - the key is accessibility. Huntsville's down town isn't the same as Birmingham's.

The New Orleans Zephyrs were in the burbs and averaged over 10,000 a season for a long time. Round Rock Express - suburbs. Now granted, these are major cities in comparison to Huntsville, but key for this team is location, location, location - closer to the people, the better chance at success.

Having worked in minor league sports, and worked for a soccer team owned by a baseball team, Minor league baseball has the event stuff down pat, and have had it for 30 years. Hiring a good staff makes that part easy.