Crack of the bat.
Just Two Guys and The 26th Man have me wanting a cold brew and a foot long hot dog.
Update: Betsy just sent a link over of a guy who reviews ball parks. Here’s his review about Lanphier Field. Also, she has her own take on Lanphier Field. Side note: Betsy has worked at the Baseball Hall of Fame, Swing of the Quad Cities, and the Daytona Cubs. I consider her my personal expert on minor league baseball.
How about instead of taking off 10 mins of my drive to the I-72 on-ramp (see MacArthur extension), we use that money to build a new Springfield baseball stadium? LRS Field, Bunn Stadium? There are plenty of local companies for corporate sponsorship. I bet someone is just aching to flip the bill to plaster their sponsorship on score boards, souvenirs, and ball gloves.
Remember the TV 20 / Dr. Pepper gloves that they used to give out? I had mine for years and so did my neighbors.
Actually, let’s keep the MacArthur extension and still build a new stadium. I still think it is unbelievable that I’ll be able to get on the interstate from MacArthur.
Best example is O’brien Field in Peoria.
The 26th Man has it right:
In order to be financially viable, a team today needs things like luxury boxes and multiple concession stands, souvenir stands and bathrooms. Which is why Springfield needs a new stadium.
The guys are saying that the stadium should be built downtown. That sounds great, but where would you put it, and what would you tear down?
What if it were off the Hazel Dell frontage road near the 6th Street exit? Right about here.
If I only had the money.
Your location suggestion is interesting, because I believe another gigantic retail enterprise is planned for that area, anchored by a Super Wal-Mart.
Downtown probably wouldn’t be the most practical place. But it sure would be the most awesomest.
I think it’s easy to say, “We have to put the park where there is currently nothing standing.” But I do think there are some places downtown that could support a stadium. Other than that, yeah, some structures may need to be demolished. I’m not an engineer or an architect, but I bet there are plenty of those folks who could find space for a downtown baseball stadium. Springfield had no problem demolishing the Orpheum theater back in the day, and still to this day nothing stands in its place. I can’t see the point in tearing that down and replacing it with a plot of urban blight. My point is, things get torn down. We can either leave some structures standing and going unused, or we can knock some things down and make space for something useful. I think it’s all a matter of figuring out what’s useful and what’s not. People around here are awfully stubborn, though, so convincing them to do new things is difficult.
Or, take a look at a satellite view of downtown Springfield, and you’ll see a lot of parking lots. If we could find a solution to the current parking problem (garages take up vertical space, not horizontal space), we might be able to find space in areas that currently store cars by day and sit mostly unused on nights and weekends. That’s pretty useless space.
Oh, and nice reference to the Dr. Pepper gloves. You KNOW I still have that sweet ball glove!
Springfield has shown time and time again that they get bored with and dont support minor league sports. This not enought of a blue collar town like Peoria is to have the fan base to support such a project. Rememeber when we had the Springfiel Cardinals and no one supported them and the left town just like every other minor team has and will.
Jager, you’re in real estate and the first rule in real estate is always location, location, location. Look at the facility. It was built in 52′, it’s a lightening rod, and the seventh inning stretch could be interrupted by a passing train.
I miss the Dr Pepper gloves too.
And the old school Spfd Cards, especially when Todd Zeile was hitting dingers outta that park on a regular basis.