Scott Boras Wants A Team In Montreal

((HT: Sportsnet))

And, at the Winter Meetings, he thought the team should be the Rays as the ones to move.

Here's his gaggle...

Makes sense to the HQ, now all the town needs is a barn in town to make it happen.

The team could not play in the Big O because it's out of date, unless the provision was for a year or two during costruction. The fans have never been an issue there, it has always been ownership and wanting to invest in a team there.

So, the HQ agrees with Boras... let's see if everyone else does...

Could The Athletics Finally Move...???

((HT: KPIX-TV))

When MLB Commissioner Bud Selig jumps in and actually tells the Oakland Athletics that they can get up and move if there's no new deal put together with the Oakland Coliseum board- that's huge news...

And, of course, it's put in the headlines at the same time as the A's made a great deal for starting pitching and are off to one of the best starts in the season for all of Major League Baseball.

If a new 10-year deal isn't put on the table and agreed to, could the A's go to San Antonio or Montreal...???

That's the question posed by SFGate's Matier and Ross quoting City Council President Larry Reid as saying the A's "have options."

Here's the analysis for now as everyone wonders if the City Council are ready to play chicken with a major tenant...


If Oakland moved to Montreal, it would cause upheaval in the American League Division structure. It would make more sense, for preservation sake, if Tampa was the team to go after years of failing (and flailing) support.

Warren Cromartie and the Montreal Baseball Project have been shouting from the rooftops about a downtown, retractable roof stadium that would give the city a more tenable place to watch a sport and team the city could wrap themselves around- as they did with the Expos.

San Antonio is mentioned, but the Alamodome is only 280-feet down the right field line. Optimistically, the right field foul pole at Fenway is listed at one distance, but may be really 297 feet.

Vegas...??? Too hot... and the gambling influence may be too much.
Sacramento and Portland are both top-25 markets, but the stadium sizes may not meet MLB spec.

So, all that does is drop you out of top-35 market sizes for a new barn that is ready for play immediately.

And a 16-14 split if the A's were to move to the National League...

This is an official headache...

College Football Stadium Site Moved Because Of Eagles

((HT: WSB-TV))

Berry College is in the process of adding a new football stadium to their facilities to go with their burgeoning football program in NCAA Division III.

Here's a piece the HQ did on the Reinhardt and Berry College programs in Year One


They started thinking about building their own barn on campus, had Valhalla all picked out, but got visitors- bald eagles.
They put up a webcam to show everyone the eagles as they net- and it ended up with over 17-million views
You can still check it out hyah

The school is thinking discretion and moving across the street is the better idea...

Here's Fred Blankenship with some web cam video of the eagles...
"We didn't see the eagles coming," commented Berry President Steve Briggs. "But they certainly knew what they were looking for in a college. It would be difficult to find a more fitting home for a pair of nesting bald eagles than Berry's amazing campus. The eagles epitomize this place— both its uncommon beauty and its educational opportunity." So, the Eagles win and the Vikings get more room for their new barn.

DEVELOPING: Georgia State Wants Turner Field

The talk had gone down about a month ago that Georgia State University was really interested in the Turner Field property that will be vacated by the Atlanta Braves when they move to the suburbs for the 2017 season.

It's now official...in proposal form, anyway...

Janel Davis and J. Scott Trubey over at the AJC got the look at what the university wants to do for their future. They want to turn Turner Field into a 30,000-seat facility for sports and build a mixed-use development around it.

The Braves lease allows them until Jan. 1, 2016, to officially give notice to the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority of whether it will exercise a five-year option on using the property. The lease expires Dec. 31, 2016. Beyond that, the lease gives the Braves options to extend for four successive five-year periods.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is looking for answers from the Braves at the earliest possible time so he can move on the ideas that are coming across his desk- and it looks like GSU's stadium/park/dorms is the leader in the clubhouse.

The one quote from GSU President Mark Becker:

“We are focused on the future for the best possible use for Atlanta and honoring the history and tradition of (the Braves and Olympics),” he told Davis and Trubey.

The team has gone through tough sledding in Division I in, now, the Sun Belt Conference and need a boost of energy to be a relevant part of the athletics landscape. This could do it for the future of the university proper...

Here's the look after their spring game last month...
((HT: Georgia State Athletics their own selves))

Is This The First Step Back For The LA Rams...???

((HT: LA Times/Farmer))

Sam Farmer has come across the news that current St. Louis Rams-everything Colorado short of the Broncos-Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has bought a 60-acre parking lot in between The Forum and Hollywood Park. Wal-Mart originally owned the parcel, and Madison Square Garden Corp. was interested but they were too late in their purchase notion.

The Rams won an arbitration case against the city of St. Louis almost a year ago over the price each side thinks that was needed to renovate the Edward Jones Dome. The city thought it would take a little over $130-million while the Kroenke family said it would be more in the neighborhood of $700-million.

Here was an interview Charles Jaco had with the head of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kitty Ratcliffe, after the judgment talking about her concerns about NOT hearing from the Rams about their thoughts- on any level-after the decision...
((HT: Fox2 St Louis))


There is an adjacent 238-acre site, according to Farmer, that is the old Hollywood Park site that is set to be a mixed-use development right now...

Right...now...

Kroenke is too smart and too private to do this without telling some Shield folks in New York City. If he wants to relocate the Rams back to LA, he's not going to do anything and step on league toes at the same time...

Here's a sample of people who were asked about the idea...like Al Michaels...
((HT: Eric Geller))


Eric Dickerson...
((HT: Eric Geller))


And the debate goes on...

Surprising No One: Braves New Suitors Approve Deal

((HT: 11Alive))

The Braves are moving to the suburbs and this was the next phase in the shoe-horning of the process...

Not really surprising anyone, though...

The Cobb County (GA) Commission approved the deal that has too many holes and too many elements in flux...

But, what the heck...
After it was done, the standard statement was released by the Fulton County Commission Chairman along with Atlanta City Council members, Atlanta Central Progress, and the Atlanta Fulton County Recreational Authority- all aggrieved by the move and disappointed by the proceedings: Ever since our county received the disappointing news that the Atlanta Braves plan to move out of Fulton County at the conclusion of the 2016 season, Fulton County Commissioners and Atlanta City Council members have expressed a desire to keep the team here in Atlanta. Tonight's vote by commissioners in Cobb County agreeing to move ahead with efforts to bring the team there are certainly a disappointment , but political and economic leaders in Fulton County still believe the Braves could and should have a viable future in Atlanta. We understand the team's concerns about economic development in the area surrounding Turner Field. We believe there are still solutions civic and business leaders could pursue in conjunction with the ball club to keep the team as a thriving part of our community. We hope to have a dialogue with the team to make that case. The Atlanta Braves are a proud symbol of a great city and we still hope to keep them in Atlanta.
The traffic issues are still bad BEFORE construction and a move was considered...

So, what now...???

Braves To The Burbs: Now, We Think We Know The Numbers...Until They Change...

The new Braves project is supposed to cost $672-million, the Braves would foot $372-million of that...

So, it's a 55-45 split...

The lease is set for 30 years with an option for 5 more- that would take things through the 2051 season
From Cobb County's perspective, $14 million would be for transit improvements, $10 million would come from the Cumberland Community Improvement District and $276 million from the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibition Hall Authority.

It's the Braves barn to use as they see fit, and they can let folks use it if they give permission...

Here's the breakdown of the agreement between Cobb County and the Braves...

There will be taxes that will be added or restructured to make this go down right (if you're Cobb) in hotels, rental cars (which is interesting since there is no transportation hub to do it, unless you call a "mall" a transportation hub), and business property rates.

But this also may introduce some kind of rail system to alleviate traffic that is already there and will only increase once the project undergoes construction...something the county has steadfastly voted against in the past...

Reps from the Braves met with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed on the move...
Deal is just calling himself an "interested observer..." and will not earmark or allocate any kind of dollars toward the new stadium...

Here's his recap of the meeting...
((HT: WSB-TV))

CONTINUING: Braves To The Burbs, Where's The Money Coming From...??? Misplaced Priorities...???

((HT: WSB-TV))

A few points of thought...

The HQ would like to know where the money is EXACTLY coming from for the new Suburban Palace...

Since...

A) Cobb County, Brother Phil's abode of choice, has been laying off essential personnel like teachers and hasn't given them raises in the last decade. Schools have had to lay off teachers in situations of tenure (or a lack thereof)...

One high school in particular as an example- Allatoona High School (a new school in the county)- had to lay off coaches in their football program in 2010- and had to wait months for a budget reorganization to reinstate the coaches that were lacking in tenure after the fiscal year started.

So, the longer version of that same story...

New school has no teachers with tenure...
Therefore, they're the first ones laid off by the letter of the law...
New school is, then, rendered temporarily useless by the expansion of the county and the budget shortfalls created by the government that created the school in the first place...

This is the county government in charge of the new Braves facility...

And, B) The idea that the county contribution to the new Braves facility is a tax, but isn't really a tax in name only...
But won't be voted on before any kind of open forum will be vetted...

Make sense...???

Here's continuing coverage of the fallout even as the Mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed has both thrown in the towel and not given up...

The larger question is... since Reed threw all his chips in over the Falcons deal, how does he plan on keeping both...???