Over the past decade, America has undergone a boom in stadium constructions at a cost billions and billions of dollars.
Since the Indians packed their bags for Jacobs Field in 1994, every big league professional sports franchise in Ohio has or will move in to plush new digs. And yet, somehow, the Columbus Clippers, the most prominent minor league franchise in the state, has been left out of the loop.
The funny thing is they don’t seem to care much.
“We really can’t talk about it,” said Clippers President Ken Schnacke. “It’s not on the horizon. It has never been of immediate or heightened interest.”
It should be.
Anyone, and there aren’t too many of you, who has been to Cooper Stadium lately knows this.
The place, as a whole, is an eyesore. The removable bleachers in right field don’t look like they belong at all, the concourse is a joke and the scoreboard is outdated and ugly.
Basically, think of something with the age of Fenway Park but with the charm of old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Two smaller Ohio cities, Akron and Dayton, that lack the resources of a Columbus have minor league ballparks that have sparked downtown revivals. The Akron Aeros’ Canal Park and the Dayton Dragons’ Fifth Third Park have become central to summer night life in their respective cities.
Meanwhile, the top farm club of the most storied team in all of professional sports, the New York Yankees, has been sitting on their hands.
When Canal Park opened in 1997 the double-A Canton-Akron Indians moved in and changed their name. Since then the Aeros have averaged 7,200 in attendance. At the time, it was a part of a community effort to revitalize downtown.
It has done that, and then some. A whole new entertainment district sprouted with bars, restaurants and other destinations around the park.
“The ballpark is the crown jewel of the project,” said Aeros Director of Public Relations James Carpenter. “It brings people into the city and they keep coming back. We’ve set several Eastern League attendance records.”
Dayton has had even more success with its park.
Fifth Third Park was built in one year and at a cost of $15 Million with the single-A Rockford (IL) Reds moving to town and into the new place in 2000. The park has a seating capacity of 7,230. The Dragons have pulled about 8,300 fans per game since cutting the ribbon.
Mandalay Sports Entertainment, which owns four minor league teams, was behind the project. They capitalized on the small market and gave it an identity.
“The perception we had when we came here was that no one liked to go downtown, it was dirty, it wasn’t safe and there was nothing to do,” said Eric Deutsch, the team’s executive vice president. “Those urban myths were dispelled after game one.”
And the impact hasn’t just been cosmetic, either.
“Crime is down and has continue to go down and economically, it has been a boon for Dayton,” said Deutsch. “It has changed perception. When you provide people with something like this, positive things happen.”
Columbus is not in the dire straits those cities were when the parks went up. But it still has areas that reflect the Midwestern rust belt stereotype.
Columbus has done a great job with downtown, creating “districts” like most cities create bus stops, making the area a vibrant place. But something still seems incomplete.
I have maintained since moving here four years ago that Columbus really doesn’t have a big city feel to it. It almost seems like the city tries to force itself to be a major metropolis. But this could put 10,000 people on the streets 72 times between April and September. That would be a giant leap.
Having a “district” around it could attract the huge college-age population of Franklin County. A demographic group the Clippers have not done well with.
Parents could take their kids, businessmen could take clients, and those passing through town could stop and take in a game. It could be the centerpiece of entertainment in Columbus. It makes too much sense.
Just drop it on the dilapidated east side of downtown, face it into the skyline and make sure it’s done right. Then, open the cash register and watch the dollars flow in.
Albert Breer is a senior in journalism from Sudbury, Mass. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].
