Despite Cooper Stadium being the oldest ballpark in all of Triple-A baseball and with rumors of renovation or relocation being tossed around, it seems that the park still has a place in Columbus.

“I have been coming to games for over 15 years with my family,” said Jim Whitmer, who attended six of the Clippers’ first seven games. “This stadium has green grass, and the seats are nice. What else do you want?”

Some would like to see the stadium moved downtown to the Arena District to help the area out during the summer months when the Columbus Blue Jackets are not playing. Others would like to see the stadium moved closer to the Brewery District to facilitate the area’s growth. But who is going to pay for this, and what do Clippers fans want?

The county commissioner’s office is on the horizon of taking a closer look at where the fans stand on the issue.

“The commissioner’s office is preparing to do a study of season ticket holders and box seat owners to see what they want,” said Franklin County Commissioner Dewey Stokes. “We are doing the study because we want the people that are interested in that part of the community to have a voice in it.”

The 70-year-old stadium, the 38 acres of land surrounding it and the franchise are all owned by Franklin County. The players belong to the New York Yankees by contract, but the county owns and maintains the stadium, along with the rights to have a Triple-A team in Columbus. The county spent $5.9 million in 1976 to renovate the stadium and purchase the rights to the team, which began play in 1977.

Right now the commissioner’s office is in the process of choosing an independent consulting group to perform the study and will make a report of its findings.

“After the study is completed, the three commissioners will make a decision,” Stokes said.

Part of the reason for the timing of the study is because attendance at the stadium has been decreasing in the last few seasons. Since 1992, when the team led the International League in attendance with 583,918, the Clippers have seen an almost 100,000 person drop-off by drawing only 490,390 in 2002.

“You need to put a winning team on the field if you want people to come and watch,” said 15-year-old Justin Boggs, who has a Web site devoted to the Clippers and attends games regularly. It would then be fair for people to say it isn’t the stadium that is driving people away, but perhaps the quality of play.

“Part of the reason why baseball here in Columbus is not number one is because we have college sports in this town; not just Ohio State, but Otterbein and Capital have good programs,” Stokes said. “This community is used to winners, whether it be Ohio State, the Blue Jackets, or the Clippers. If they began to lose, there will be a cooling-off in attendance.”

When the study is completed and it is determined what the county will do with the stadium, there will still the problem of funding.

“If we were going to renovate or relocate it still comes down to one thing: M-O-N-E-Y,” Stokes said. “This commissioner will not entertain a tax hike to build or renovate a stadium.”

If history means anything, it reveals that the community will not support a tax increase either. There have been five attempts at raising taxes to fund proposals for new sports facilities since 1978, and all have been defeated.

Even before the study of the stadium has begun, it seems fans are content with the stadium and happy that Columbus has it.

“I have been to games in other cities like Indianapolis where the ticket prices were higher and it was $10 to park,” said Boggs, who keeps score at every game he attends. “Columbus has a great stadium.”

That seems to be the consensus among the fans at Cooper Stadium.

“I have been coming to games with my father for many years and have been scoring games since I was five. This is a great place,” said Julie Whitmer, daughter of Jim.

Her thoughts were echoed by other fans.

“This is a nice place for baseball. There is nothing wrong with this stadium,” said Dick McCann, who has been attending games since 1959.

So for now, the Coop will remain the home to the Clippers and professional baseball in Columbus.

“It’s a great place to play ball. It is cheap entertainment and a great place for the family,” Stokes said.