Lawrence-Dumont (Wichita: home, tenant, association)

[vb_guy]

Time to ruffle some feathers again! I'm wondering if it's time to tear down old Lawrence-Dumont Stadium and replace it with a brand new ballpark. I think we could draw a minor-league team back to Wichita, and I think people would actually go to the games! Quite the concept for this city, if you ask me. I also think it would help the development of our downtown community. I think Old Town was a great start, and the arena will assist in that process.

Some background for you out-of-towners: Lawrence-Dumont Stadium was built in the 1920's. It's current tenant is the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association independent baseball league. The last minor-league team to call L-D home was the Wichita Wranglers, the Double-A affiliate of the KC Royals. The team relocated to Springdale, AR after the 2007 season with the promise of a new ballpark and a supportive fan base. The Wranglers averaged less than 2,000 in attendance in their last two seasons in Wichita.

I can't help but think that the stadium was the reason people didn't come to games, even though the stadium management poured lots of money to "fix" it. The atmosphere at the stadium was poor, and team management was in no hurry to make it better. Nobody has ever approached the city of Wichita to replace it (at least not that I'm aware of). Maybe it's time to follow Omaha, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Springfield and replace our old baseball stadium. As they said in "Field of Dreams", "If you build it, they will come!"

[athfo]

You make some good points about why people didn't attend Wrangler games. I'll also add that the WSU baseball team, having an *awesome and huge* stadium and facilities (as well as being highly ranked most years), contributed to the poor attendance.

I do like the idea of a new stadium. OKC's Bricktown Ballpark is awesome.