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You have to wonder with the state allowing alcohol sales on campus whether it wouldnt make sense for the Wood Ducks to relocate to Greenville and play in Clark Leclair when the lease is up. Just a much bigger market and growing.
Kinston could field a CPL team at Grainger, which may pull some from Greenville if they had a few ECU players on the roster every year.
You have to wonder with the state allowing alcohol sales on campus whether it wouldnt make sense for the Wood Ducks to relocate to Greenville and play in Clark Leclair when the lease is up. Just a much bigger market and growing.
Kinston could field a CPL team at Grainger, which may pull some from Greenville if they had a few ECU players on the roster every year.
It wouldn't be unprecedented, there are a bunch of MiLB teams that do share stadiums with colleges and it usually turns out to be a win-win for the minor league team and the college, but most of these partnerships involve Class A - Short Season or Advanced Rookie teams that start play in mid-June and go to early September.
The thing with the Carolina League is that it starts in April, so that would mean having to figure out a schedule with ECU and the minor league team both needing to use the stadium in April and May, now that might be a little tricky, if you know what I mean. I'm not saying it's impossible, but that field could look like crap being used so much over those 2 months.
You have to wonder with the state allowing alcohol sales on campus whether it wouldnt make sense for the Wood Ducks to relocate to Greenville and play in Clark Leclair when the lease is up. Just a much bigger market and growing.
Kinston could field a CPL team at Grainger, which may pull some from Greenville if they had a few ECU players on the roster every year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cjseliga
It wouldn't be unprecedented, there are a bunch of MiLB teams that do share stadiums with colleges and it usually turns out to be a win-win for the minor league team and the college, but most of these partnerships involve Class A - Short Season or Advanced Rookie teams that start play in mid-June and go to early September.
The thing with the Carolina League is that it starts in April, so that would mean having to figure out a schedule with ECU and the minor league team both needing to use the stadium in April and May, now that might be a little tricky, if you know what I mean. I'm not saying it's impossible, but that field could look like crap being used so much over those 2 months.
This is all true. Not sure ECU would want to try to split time with a minor league team. I think they could work better in that regard with a CPL team, since the schedules do not cross. Especially since the state changed the alcohol laws. Also, with a CPL team there are less games, so less wear & tear on the field through the summer.
I believe Greenville would be a good fit for any type of baseball team. There's been ideas floated of a team playing Guy Smith Stadium & Clark Leclair. But I think those are only temporary solutions. CLS is the best fit, given the availability of parking in the immediate area on ECU's sports campus. It's also pretty central to the entire city.
Eventually, I'd like to see a stadium in some section of downtown or as part of a mixed use complex (stadium, shopping, restaurants, park) somewhere in the city.
The location of Clark LeClair is perfect for any type of minor league baseball and the additional funding from a lease/parking/alcohol or whatever would make it a win/win for ECU. The Down East name works as well and you are more likely to draw from the Washington area in Greenville (while still being fairly close to New Bern and Kinston).
This could be a huge get for the City of Greenville as well, providing a summer entertainment that offsets ECU's. In terms of April and May, that can be worked out because ECU is in conference play and traveling about every other weekend. The team would just have a heavy road schedule for the first couple of months.
Ehhh...looks like MLB ownership of minor league teams may actually increase with their idea of a minor league restructuring, based on the idea to eliminate rookie ball and low A. I've been thinking that a restructuring would be necessary to accommodate the southeastern and westward migration of people. What MLB is considering has a different rationale and would greatly alter the landscape of minor league baseball. I'm going to have think on this one before deciding for myself if this will handicap smaller metros or not. More detailed info is definitely needed...
Ehhh...looks like MLB ownership of minor league teams may actually increase with their idea of a minor league restructuring, based on the idea to eliminate rookie ball and low A. I've been thinking that a restructuring would be necessary to accommodate the southeastern and westward migration of people. What MLB is considering has a different rationale and would greatly alter the landscape of minor league baseball. I'm going to have think on this one before deciding for myself if this will handicap smaller metros or not. More detailed info is definitely needed...
Thanks for the link. A very thought provoking article. If MLB goes through with this plan there are going to be dozens of cities that have recently invested in new/renovated stadiums left holding a load of debt. It would probably be bad news for small towns like Kinston as larger cities who stand to lose their own teams would easily be able to outbid small towns for the teams that survive this purge of MiLB.
Thanks for the link. A very thought provoking article. If MLB goes through with this plan there are going to be dozens of cities that have recently invested in new/renovated stadiums left holding a load of debt. It would probably be bad news for small towns like Kinston as larger cities who stand to lose their own teams would easily be able to outbid small towns for the teams that survive this purge of MiLB.
And probably a class action lawsuit from two or three dozen cities/owners against MLB/MiLB, I would surmise...
The choices have been narrowed to: "Hogzilla, Hamhawks, and Shaggers"
If the goal is to make the team sound like it's located in the biggest red-neck area in the country - guess they nailed it.Stuff like this is why Kinston can't have nice things...oh, well, the crime doesn't help either.
I used to live in Kinston from 1993-1999 and was surprised to see in a news article that Kinston was #50 for the most dangerous cities to live.
Wood Ducks management proposing a new and improved scoreboard/video screen for 2020 season. They are seeking approval from the city of Kinston which owns Grainger Stadium.
I think we should use this thread to discuss the future and/or current situations that deal with professional baseball in ENC. Sometimes we talk at length in the Greenville thread about the possibility of the city building a modern baseball facility downtown to try to land some kind of professional team (summer/independent/minors). I realize that Wilmington may one day reconsider a new facility with so much growth that has happened since the last vote on it, and that CPL operates partly in our area. Also, with the skyrocketing costs that MLB teams will soon have to take on in regards to paying and housing their minor league players, there's a great possibility that another minor league contraction will happen, and there'll only be one level of A ball - meaning another 30 minor league affiliates could be facing the chopping block. No way Kinston survives another round of cuts. Greenville and Wilmington may have a harder, though not impossible time, attracting a minor league affiliate with new stadium, but they don't necessarily need to have an affiliation to have a successful facility. I think Fayetteville should be safe from possible contraction, as their facility is fairly new.
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