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Old 04-28-2015, 12:45 PM
 
1,889 posts, read 2,126,503 times
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I agree that the only feasible way (unless someone leaves Marshall a very large donation one day) is for the City, County, Marshall and a private interest group together to fund the ballpark.

For Huntington, I think having a rookie level minor league team, like the one that moved to Morgantown, would work best because the rookie level teams play from mid June to around Labor Day. They are generally referred to as 'short season teams'. That way there is no overlap in scheduling related to Marshall and then the season is over in time for college football.

The two closest rookie level leagues to Huntington are the NY-Penn League (the league the Morgantown team is in) and the Appalachian League, the league that gave Huntington the Cubs in the early 1990's. On a related note, some of the teams in the Appalachian League are non-profit or owned by the cities they reside in. That may be a viable option too. Given the choice between the two leagues, I would prefer a team in the NY-Penn League.

I know the season is young but the team in Charleston is averaging 2,300 per game right now. I've always thought the team in Charleston would be better served to be a short season team too.
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Old 04-28-2015, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Ohio via WV
632 posts, read 819,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aeros71 View Post
I agree that the only feasible way (unless someone leaves Marshall a very large donation one day) is for the City, County, Marshall and a private interest group together to fund the ballpark.

For Huntington, I think having a rookie level minor league team, like the one that moved to Morgantown, would work best because the rookie level teams play from mid June to around Labor Day. They are generally referred to as 'short season teams'. That way there is no overlap in scheduling related to Marshall and then the season is over in time for college football.

The two closest rookie level leagues to Huntington are the NY-Penn League (the league the Morgantown team is in) and the Appalachian League, the league that gave Huntington the Cubs in the early 1990's. On a related note, some of the teams in the Appalachian League are non-profit or owned by the cities they reside in. That may be a viable option too. Given the choice between the two leagues, I would prefer a team in the NY-Penn League.

I know the season is young but the team in Charleston is averaging 2,300 per game right now. I've always thought the team in Charleston would be better served to be a short season team too.

I would actually prefer the Appalachian League. It's a better geographic fit than playing PA/NY/VT/CT teams. Appalachian League also plays in smaller parks....Huntington won't be able to fill the 4-7k capacity parks that the NY/Penn League has. App League plays in 2-4k which is a size that Marshall would build
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Old 04-28-2015, 02:28 PM
 
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Honestly, I would really like us to play in the same league as Charleston does (single A). There would be a natural rivalry there, which would be really fun to have. They could play 2-3 games per year or maybe play a series together. I think that would really pull people to go see the games. If I lived there, then I would go to Charleston to see it, when usually I would never be in Charleston. Also, I honestly think that we could build a 5,000-6,000 seat stadium; at least 5,000. OR a 4,000 seat stadium that could be expanded later.
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Old 04-28-2015, 03:43 PM
 
1,642 posts, read 2,405,412 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 304eer View Post
I would actually prefer the Appalachian League. It's a better geographic fit than playing PA/NY/VT/CT teams. Appalachian League also plays in smaller parks....Huntington won't be able to fill the 4-7k capacity parks that the NY/Penn League has. App League plays in 2-4k which is a size that Marshall would build
Princeton and Bluefield both have Appy League teams. With all due respect to those locations, we can support a larger stadium and league.
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Old 04-28-2015, 05:01 PM
 
10,147 posts, read 14,971,629 times
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Originally Posted by 304eer View Post
I know people have their opinions about him but for a local guy to get involved with a minor league team in Huntington, one of the better options would probably be Marshall Reynolds. This would save the city a lot of money by staying out of it
I agree. In Huntington, he would be the go to man.
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Old 04-28-2015, 05:07 PM
 
10,147 posts, read 14,971,629 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aeros71 View Post
I agree that the only feasible way (unless someone leaves Marshall a very large donation one day) is for the City, County, Marshall and a private interest group together to fund the ballpark.

For Huntington, I think having a rookie level minor league team, like the one that moved to Morgantown, would work best because the rookie level teams play from mid June to around Labor Day. They are generally referred to as 'short season teams'. That way there is no overlap in scheduling related to Marshall and then the season is over in time for college football.

The two closest rookie level leagues to Huntington are the NY-Penn League (the league the Morgantown team is in) and the Appalachian League, the league that gave Huntington the Cubs in the early 1990's. On a related note, some of the teams in the Appalachian League are non-profit or owned by the cities they reside in. That may be a viable option too. Given the choice between the two leagues, I would prefer a team in the NY-Penn League.

I know the season is young but the team in Charleston is averaging 2,300 per game right now. I've always thought the team in Charleston would be better served to be a short season team too.
I think you're right here. Given that Marshall would be renting the facility for their season, a short season team would be ideal for them like it is for us here in Morgantown. It works out perfectly in terms of seamless baseball activity and they don't conflict with each other. I don't think Charleston would be better served with a short season team because unlike Huntington and Morgantown, they wouldn't have alternative uses for the facility. I really don't think overlapping schedules with the University of Charleston football would create a significant problem.
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Old 04-28-2015, 05:18 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elewis7 View Post
Princeton and Bluefield both have Appy League teams. With all due respect to those locations, we can support a larger stadium and league.
Liked!
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Old 04-28-2015, 05:24 PM
 
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Also, would like to add that I don't think that overlapping seasons would be that big of a deal. It's not like football, where it must be played on a specific day of the week. They can move things around a bit. Maybe have a day where both teams play the day back-to-back.
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Old 04-28-2015, 07:53 PM
 
Location: Huntington, WV
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I absolutely agree that Huntington would be able to easily support a minor league team. Even St. Clouds had a capacity of 3,100, in a poor location to boot. With other fields being in the Penn League only having 2,500 seat stadiums, that likely wouldn't be an issue as stated above. The problem with most of our semi-pro teams in the past, at least in part, has been with the management running them more so than support, from my experience. Take the Huntington Heroes for example. The people showed up and supported the team but the management spent the money faster than they could make it and had to fold. The Cubs left in part because they were playing on a field that was built in 1910, in a flood plain tucked away in a part of town not many people visited. Even the Huntington Blizzard averaged about 2,800 fans a game over the 7-8 seasons they were here. Not sure if the ice equipment breaking had anything to do with them leaving or not.

Huntington has several people with money, the only problem being many of those people got their money from being "frugal" rather than spending that money. Many of them seem to want to squeeze every dime they can out of something without wanting to put much back into it. Not that that's a bad thing when running a business but it tends to limit the amount of money that they put back into the community. Another complication with adding a team is that the management running the team in Charleston supposedly has to give "permission" for a team in Huntington due to the proximity as they'd likely be afraid of pulling fan support. A new field at the ACF location would be a great draw though. Next to the other sports fields in a high traffic and centrally located part of town. If all of the pieces fall into place, this will be a jewel of a development.

Last edited by tbailey1138; 04-28-2015 at 08:24 PM..
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Old 04-28-2015, 09:36 PM
 
941 posts, read 1,346,609 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbailey1138 View Post
Another complication with adding a team is that the management running the team in Charleston supposedly has to give "permission" for a team in Huntington due to the proximity as they'd likely be afraid of pulling fan support.
You know, Marshall did a study some time ago for the plausibility of a baseball team. According to that study, Charleston's club has no jurisdiction outside of Kanawha County. For argument's sake, let's say that the Charleston club has to give permission. I don't think that "pulling fans away" is a legitimate reason to decline. I have only been away from Huntington for a few years and NEVER knew anyone who went out of their way to see a Power game. Maybe that's just my personal experience though.
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