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.

State of the Penn League

Here is the link to an excellent story written by the Centre Daily Times' Guy Cipriano (a Washington County native who got his start in the biz at the Observer-Reporter). Guy writes about how changes in the first-year player draft, signing date and the college season have caused the level of play to drop in the New York-Penn League.

It's interesting that the Wild Things have more outfielders (2), who were drafted in the first three rounds than the State College Spikes (Pirates affiliate) have players on their 31-man roster who were taken in the first three rounds of any draft.

Read the story here.