New York-Penn League to Morgantown

It was announced Tuesday that the New York-Penn League intends to move one of its franchises to a yet-to-be-built ballpark in Morgantown, W.Va., in time for the 2015 season.

According to the Clarksburg (W.Va.) Exponent-Telegram, that franchise will be the Jamestown Jammers, the Pittsburgh Pirates' affiliate in the short-season Class A league.

The Morgantown ballpark, which will be built at University Town Center, just off the Star City exit of Interstate 79, will be shared by the New York-Penn League team and West Virginia University. There is a precedent for a successful college/pro partnership in that league with Penn State and the State College Spikes sharing Medlar Park.

We mentioned the Morgantown ballpark on this blog back in June of 2012. Remember the artist's renderings that look almost identical to Consol Energy Park?

So what does a ballpark in Morgantown have to do with the Wild Things? Well, it might pull away some fans in Greene County who make a visit or two to Washington to see the Wild Things, but it shouldn't be a major hit to attendance at CEP.

The significant impact, however, could be on the planned Frontier League move to Bridgeport, W.Va., which is only 37 miles south of Morgantown. The Wild Things' ownership group plans to put a team in a yet-to-be-built Bridgeport ballpark in 2014. Officials in Bridgeport announced in late January that site work could begin on the ballpark within 90 days, though no funding plans for the stadium have been finalized. The cost of the project has been estimated at $10 million and funding is expected to be a mix of public and private dollars. The Morgantown ballpark, which is estimated to cost between $16 and $18 million, will likely be financed, by tax increment financing (TIF).

This begs the question, is West Virginia big enough to build and support two new minor-league ballparks that will be drawing from much of the same pool of baseball fans?

Border wars

We know that the Frontier League and Wild Things ownership have expressed interest in putting an expansion team in Bridgeport, W.Va., as early as 2014. With recent news coming out of Morgantown, W.Va., one has to wonder if this is a good idea.

Monongalia County approved a tax-increment financing (TIF) district for Morgantown, which clears the way for the way for West Virginia University to build a ballpark that could be shared with a short-season New York-Penn League team.

The district applies to University Town Center, the shopping area just off the Star City exit. A reported $20 million ballpark is in the works.

WVU athletic director Oliver Luck is behind the push for a new ballpark to help elevate the Mountaineers' baseball program to where its competitive in the Big XII Conference.

Luck said he has been talking with teams in the NY-Penn about a team moving to the ballpark when it is built. There is a precedent for a successful college/pro partnership in that league with Penn State and the P:ittsburgh Pirates' State College Spikes sharing Medlar Park.

While a NY-Penn franchise would have to be for sale or able to move to Morgantown, WVU does have one person who could help make pro baseball happen. Ken Kendrick, owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is a WVU graduate and influential booster. There are rumblings that Arizona's affiliate in Yakima, Wash., which plays at the same level as the New York-Penn, has a lease that expires in 2015 and is on its way out of town.

Hmmm.

What does all of this have to do with the Frontier League? Well, if a Bridgeport franchise is going to be successful, it will have to draw a significant amount of fans from Fairmont, which is less than 20 miles to the north. Bridgeport probably doesn't have enough population to support a Frontier League team if it doesn't get support from Fairmont. But a person living in Fairmont can just as easily drive to Morgantown as Bridgeport. Plus, you have to believe the ballpark in Morgantown is going be significantly bigger and nicer than Bridgeport's.

The Wild Things also draw fans from Greene County, and if you live in, say Waynesburg, its faster to get to Morgantown than to Washington's Chestnut Street exit.

I'm not sure about how far all the Class A Midwest teams are to Frontier League teams, but it seems that the FL clubs do not do well at the gate when located close to affiliated teams. For example, Canton/Akron, Kalamazoo/Battle Creek. Maybe Joliet and Schaumburg will do well against some Midwest League competition, but Bridgeport doesn't have the same kind of population base as those two areas.

One interesting side note to this Morgantown ballpark is that several media outlets are still reporting that Luck wants the ballpark to have a synthetic surface. That might rule out an affiliated team in Morgantown. If it does, why wouldn't Wild Things ownership partner with WVU instead of Bridgeport? It would make more sense to have a Washington-Morgantown rivalry than a Washington-Bridgeport rivalry.

Why stop at Bridgeport?

Last week, Wild Things ownership announced plans to put a Frontier League team in Bridgeport, W.Va. Today, the News and Sentinel reported that local officials from Parkersburg, W.Va., will meet with Wild Things officials about establishing a team and ballpark in that city.

According to the report, Parkersburg mayor Bob Newell is putting together a delegation that will be in Washington next week.

"They are excited. Very excited with the possibility of a team being in Parkersburg," Newell said of the Frontier League. "When (the league) expanded they need to do two teams and Parkersburg is a choice for one of them."

Wild Things owner Stu Williams confirmed that his group is interested in a Parkersburg team.

"Is there interest on our part? Yes," Williams told the newspaper. "There is serious interest. Is there a path forward? Yes."

Read the story here.

Bridgeport thoughts

The news Thursday that the Wild Things have an agreement with Genesis Partners to bring Frontier League baseball to Bridgeport, W.Va., in 2014 came as a surprise, even if ownership had been working on this kind of deal since 2004.

The original plan was for a ballpark and upscale community development to be located in Fairmont, W.Va. The ballpark was to be shared by a Frontier League franchise -- owned by the Wild Things' group -- and Fairmont State's baseball team. Wild Things ownership thought a team in Fairmont would be ideal because it would be located between Morgantown and the Clarksburg/Bridgeport area.

That plan, however, was stuck in a West Virginia political power struggle, and the end result was the Bridgeport plan. The ballpark will cost $15 to $20 million and seat 3,5000. It will be located in the $1.4 billion Charles Pointe master-planned community (think Southpointe with a ballpark). Bridgeport is located 75 miles south of Washington.

The most interesting part of this announcement by the Wild Things is the timing. It comes on the heels of West Virginia University's announcement last month that it wants to build a ballpark at University Town Center, just off the I-79 Star City exit. The park would be home to the Mountaineers' baseball program and a minor league team. According to the Charleston Daily Mail, WVU athletic director Oliver Luck wants the ballpark to have a synthetic playing surface. Readers of this blog know that means an independent team would likely be the tenant.

The developers in Bridgeport are far ahead of WVU's, and the Wild Things have been working for years on the former project. But you have to wonder how the WVU situation will impact a Bridgeport franchise.