Ottawa Baseball Stadium

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by adam-machiavelli

Seriously? Is this a joke?

I don't see how its a joke.THey went with a team name that is not tos erious it will attract fans of all ages.

[Mille Sabords]

Brilliant! I'm going to a game just for that team name. Also, the O logo with the cat's eye is pretty cool.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

I suddenly feel like I've been transported to some Kind of Disney Hell, and it makes me want to vomit profusely... >_<

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Gees-gees baseball will play at the Ottawa Stadium, bet you did not know uOttawa had a baseball team. They hope to raise visibility by playing there,

New stable for the Garnet and Grey

Men’s baseball club set to play home games at Ottawa Baseball StadiumJ

by Jaehoon Kim

Published: Mar 30

THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa men’s baseball competitive club currently plays their home games at Heritage Park in Orleans. Unfortunately for baseball lovers at the U of O, Heritage Park is a 20-minute drive from the downtown campus, and the trek out to suburbia takes 45 minutes by bus. As a result, the team has struggled to attract fans to their home games, despite being perennial national contenders in the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA).

“In the past, we’ve just had friends and family [at games], coming all the way out to Orleans,” said Gees head coach Larry Belanger. “We’ve played out in Orleans and that’s been good for us [because] we have a good relationship with the Orleans Little League, but it’s just so far away from campus. It’s impossible to get students out there to watch our games.”

That’s all about to change as of September.

Starting next season, the Gee-Gees are set to play their home games at the downtown Ottawa Baseball Stadium, located near the Ottawa train station. The stadium—formerly the home of the Ottawa Lynx—can seat up to 10,332 fans. The semi-pro Ottawa Fat Cats have a lease with the City of Ottawa for the stadium; the Gee-Gees will be renting from the Fat Cats as the Cats’ season finishes in July, well before the start of the school year.

“We’re going to make a real push for publicity [to] make sure that every student at the U of O knows that we’re playing there and that we’re an option for something to do on the weekend,” said Belanger.

“It will give some validity to our name that we are a serious organization. We want to really show Ottawa that we’re here to stay,” added Gees veteran catcher Matti Emery.

Aside from providing student fans with easier access to the team, the Gee-Gees will also benefit from calling the Ottawa Baseball Stadium home in other ways.

“Teams can do a lot better if they have home-field advantage with fans cheering for them. There’s no other team in the entire league that would have facilities like we would if we were to play there. It’s easily the best field in CIBA,” said Emery.

The team has been busy for the past few months, trying to fundraise money in order to finance this project. The Gees have also attracted the attention of various local sponsors; these sources of revenue are required because the baseball club is trying not to charge fans to attend their games.

“Admission would be free to the games. The Fat Cats will have their canteens open and they’ll be selling beer, so they’ll have a chance to make some money that way. We’ll be doing a 50-50 draw, we’ll be selling programs, our t-shirts, and hats at the stadium to make ourselves a little bit of money,” said Belanger of the team’s financial model.

Ottawa finished 10-6 and was unable to reach the nationals this past season as a result of a highly inexperienced roster. With a much more veteran-laden lineup in tow, the Gees are expecting greater things for 2011.

“I’ve played for the Gee-Gees for three years and in two of them, we lost in the national semifinals. A lot of guys coming in next year have collegiate experience from the states. So we should have a pretty good lineup,” explained Emery.

“Pitching will have good depth and defensively, I’m only losing one player off of our starting nine and we already have someone stepping in to fill that spot—a new recruit. I expect to go to nationals. We should be one of the top teams in the country this year,” said Belanger.

[McC]

that's great news!

[reidjr]

A mixed-use development should be built in the parking lot of the Ottawa Stadium, an analysis has concluded.

The six-acre parking lot could support a development with at least an additional 550,000 square feet of floorspace, the report says.

But the future of the actual taxpayer-owned stadium is still murky.

“In any event, if the stadium facility is to be maintained, it will require the city to find a strong development partner with a financially viable and sustainable development and stadium use plan. The potential to find such a development partner appears to be limited if restrictions are placed on the potential, in the future, to further adapt or redevelop the stadium facility,” the report says.

The analysis suggests maintaining the stadium without development in the parking lot, or modifying the stadium to broaden its use, “appears to be unrealistic.”

Converting the stadium into a concert bowl is “feasible,” and although eliminating the stadium from the long-term plan is possible, it might not produce the best value to the city, the report says.

If the entire 16-acre stadium property was sold and redeveloped without the stadium, the value of the land would be reduced by the roughly $2.5-million cost to demolish the stadium.

Since the stadium is still in good condition, staff say keeping the structure would be “economically and environmentally appropriate,” even if the playing field isn't maintained.

Staff also say the $4 million to move the a sports dome facility from Lansdowne Park to the baseball stadium is hard to justify without first establishing a long-term benefit that fits with the vision for the stadium.

The report also comments on the future of baseball in Ottawa.

“Based on the past experience in Ottawa and the apparent overall decline of organized baseball in Canada in the last decade, there is little or no current evidence to indicate that a purpose-built baseball stadium can be financially sustained in the long-term by reliance on a professional or semi-professional baseball being the predominant use for the facility,” the report says.

“The financial viability of maintaining the Stadium structure for the long-term will likely be dependent of the ability to attract a significant number of other customer paying events.”

The Ottawa Fat Cats of the Intercounty Baseball League currently play out of the stadium, which was originally built in 1992 for the Ottawa Lynx triple-A ball club.

[kevinbottawa]

I wonder if this will make city staff reconsider developing the stadium grounds.

[kevinbottawa]

Someone just started a thread about the Gees Gees baseball team moving their games from Orleans to the Ottawa Baseball Stadium. I wonder how this will factor into the plans for the stadium.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...99#post5225099

[rakerman]

If maintaining the stadium without some theoretical development is unrealistic, I don't understand why they're doing the $8 million pedestrian bridge? What does the pedestrian bridge connect people to?

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by rakerman

If maintaining the stadium without some theoretical development is unrealistic, I don't understand why they're doing the $8 million pedestrian bridge? What does the pedestrian bridge connect people to?

What it seems like they want to do is have houseing/stores/offices and the stadium used as a concert bowl.

[MountainView]

Don't know if there is any truth to this, or whether anyone else has seen this article yet but I think it's worth posting:

Article:

http://www.yourottawaregion.com/spor...back-to-ottawa

Daniel Nugent-Bowman - Apr 11, 2011


Return of minor-league team could happen by 2013

College Coun. Rick Chiarelli believes Ottawa is getting closer to securing a professional baseball team, which could happen as early as the 2013 season.

Chiarelli made headlines last November after admitting he was “embryonic stages” of bringing a minor-league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays to the nation’s capital.

Now Chiarelli – who is in talks with Orleans Coun. Bob Monette and Brian Carolan, president and spokesperson for the Ottawa Stadium Group – believes a pro-level team could be in the works if the Ottawa Stadium is up kept.

Ottawa Major Jim Watson delayed a plan that would have seen the stadium’s parking lot transformed into condominiums, offices and retail buildings on April 5.

He added that the success of the Ottawa Fat Cats’ inaugural season in the Intercounty Baseball League also factored into the reasoning.

“If we are successful in securing a professional team that happened to be affiliated with the Blue Jays, it will only improve the popularity of the sport and sustainability of the franchise for many years to come,” said Chiarelli in a press release on April 11. “We have a lot of work to do at committee and with city council but we are very motivated to assemble a ‘best-use’ scenario to ensure we, as a community, utilize a fantastic city asset and state-of-the-art facility.”

Chiarelli added that he believes Ottawa Stadium is the best baseball facility in Canada, save for the Blue Jays’ Rogers Centre.

Back in November, Mal Romanin, manager of baseball information for the Toronto Blue Jays, said re-negotiating with their farm teams isn’t an option for at least the next two seasons.

“We have agreements with all our affiliates that go through the 2012 season and we’re very happy with all our affiliates at this stage,” he said.

Carolan, however, appears hopeful that when the time comes, Ottawa will be ready.

“After meeting with Councillor Monette and Councillor Chiarelli, we concluded that our efforts in returning professional baseball to Ottawa were being duplicated and that the community would be better served if we all agreed to work as one group and expedite the process in accomplishing the objective,” he said in the release.

The Ottawa Lynx were the city’s last professional minor-league team. Founded in 1993, the Lynx were the Triple-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles and, finally, the Philadelphia Phillies before folding in 2007.

The Rapidz a Canadian-American League team played one season in 2008 before the Fat Cats began play last season.

[McC]

If Ottawa does land a team affiliated to Toronto, my vote is to call the team the O'Jays, and, of course, the shuttle bus to the games would be "The Love Train", both because the song rules and the implied ironic comment on the state of our transit.

;-)

Double-A baseball bound for Ottawa in 2014, mayor says


By David Reevely, Ottawa CitizenSeptember 6, 2012 10:00 AM

OTTAWA — The city’s reached a deal to lease the Ottawa Stadium to a minor-league baseball team for the 2014 season, Mayor Jim Watson announced Thursday morning.

It’s actually in two parts: an agreement between the city and a middleman, Beacon Sports Capital Partners, to lease and renovate the Coventry Road building, and an agreement between Beacon and an unnamed team in the Double-A Eastern League to move in.

“The City of Ottawa has cleared an important hurdle on our way to bringing professional baseball back to Ottawa,” Watson said in a written statement. “If the plan moves forward, it will allow the city to preserve an important purpose-built city asset, the Ottawa Stadium, while providing an exciting family entertainment option for the residents of Ottawa.”

The stadium has been underused since the Ottawa Lynx Triple-A team left in 2007. Its most recent main tenant has been the Ottawa Fat Cats semi-professional team.

Repeated rumours have said that the Eastern League’s Binghamton Mets are looking to move north and that another team could take their place in Binghamton’s stadium. Regardless, the key to making professional baseball work in Ottawa is supposed to be an affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays major-league team, which would send young players here to develop their skills.

David Gourlay, the organizer behind a ticket drive meant to prove that Ottawans have an appetite for baseball, sent a news release out minutes after Watson’s announcement, talking up the prospects for a vibrant baseball scene in the capital that would include “the thousands of Blue Jays fans cheering on the team.” About 3,100 people put money down in anticipation of getting tickets when the new team starts playing, he wrote.

Under the outline for a deal that city council approved earlier this year, the city and Beacon would between them spend more than $10 million getting the stadium up to scratch for professional ball again. The terms of the agreements are consistent with the outline, said Councillor Rick Chiarelli, who’s promoted the return of pro baseball for years. All that’s left is a “due-diligence” period for the city and the other parties to check each other’s claims.

“I think we’re pretty confident that what they’re saying is true,” he said of Beacon. “And we’re confident that what we’re saying is true as well.” Watson’s announcement says that city council’s finance committee will vote on the terms of the agreement with Beacon in October.

One pop-fly in the ointment is that the deal doesn’t include any particular guarantee for the Fat Cats, Chiarelli said. The team’s short season means it could theoretically fit a schedule around a Double-A team’s home games, but making it work isn’t a certainty.

More to come.

dreevely@ottawacitizen.com
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

[Acajack]

What I find interesting about this is that the City of Ottawa used public funds without barely blinking an eye to build a baseball stadium in 1993: 17 million back then, which would probably mean 50 million today. Compare this to the saga around renovations and building new stands at Frank Clair for a CFL club.

[OTTHockeyFan]

New article just released today touting the revitalization of the stadium: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/...619/story.html

Heavy hitters back new baseball bid

Partners plan to ‘reinvent’ Ottawa Stadium as sports and entertainment hub

By Don Campbell, OTTAWA CITIZEN March 2, 2013

Two of the biggest and most powerful corporate players in all of minor league professional baseball, including one that already owns an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, are poised to bring pro baseball back to the capital.

...

[rocketphish]

Finance committee votes unanimously for Ottawa Stadium plan

By OTTAWA CITIZEN, Ottawa Citizen June 4, 2013 1:06 PM

Ottawa’s finance committee unanimously approved Tuesday morning a proposal for its Ottawa Stadium that would see it spend up to six times as much as previously planned.

“Baseball was successful before and it can be again,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said Tuesday, adding that a long-term tenant “would allow the city to start reinvesting in the facility.”

During the Finance Committee’s meeting, City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick said Ottawa has put a lot of effort into trying to make the previous plan work, with “extensive discussions” with two potential owners. The city was unable to make a deal.

Kirkpatrick said the new proposal asks bidders to indicate what improvements they think the stadium would need, how it would be paid for, and how the city could recoup its share.

“I think that in terms of what is required to remediate the deferred life cycle spending on that facility is probably in the range of $8 million -to-$10 million,” Kirkpatrick said.

The new proposal makes the stadium available for rentals this summer and potentially next.

Much of Tuesday’s discussion was about parking at the stadium, with some questioning if there could be underground parking to double the stadium’s capacity.

There was also discussion of permitting “Single-A” baseball. Kirkpatrick said the City preferred to have “affiliated” baseball at the stadium.

The stadium proposal goes to council for approval next week.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Finance...#ixzz2VGhTv4bs

[McC]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

...“Baseball was successful before and it can be again,” Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said Tuesday...

The Politics of Failure have failed! We must make them work again!"

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Isn't the definition of insanity "doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result?"

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Jamaican-Phoenix

Isn't the definition of insanity "doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result?"

No, that's the definition of Ottawa.

[citydwlr]

Is this really the only way they can see this land be profitable again?! Don't get me wrong, I loved coming here back in the day to watch a Lynx game; but, that was triple A. But, in all honestly I can count on one hand how many times I went. And more recently, I never went to a Fat Cats game...ever. I just don't see how this will bring them any money...not from seat sales, or from merchandising.

If anything, I feel like they are trying to push this plan in order to justify the cost of the walkway over the QEW. Plus, they keep calling that field an "asset" so I don't think they really want to tear it down at this point since it cost so much to build in the first place. They need to think outside of the box (or diamond in this case)....Off the top of my head, they could bring the Museum of Science & Tech out of it's somewhat obscure location and build a world-class facility around the existing stadium's infrastructure (maybe with a planetarium or something novel to draw in visitors)? They could keep the base structure, but build around it. That would at least justify the walkway to some degree, and it would bring the S&T museum to a more central location.

Anyway, it's just my opinion, but I don't think Baseball has a fighting chance in Ottawa. They should open that space up to the someone in the private sector who can dream up something bigger and better to draw in the crowds.

[Cre47]

They should just forget about baseball. Baseball is probably not in the top 5 in sports interest in this city. Hockey first, football second, soccer third, basketball fourth and I'm sure there is more interest in golf and tennis before baseball. Heck there would be a bigger interest in auto racing before baseball. Yes I wish there would be a bigger auto racing facility than Capital City Speedway.

Baseball has lost a lot of interest after the Expos left Montreal and the Lynx left not to mention all the performance-enhanced scandals affecting MLB.