Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Harrison Square’

The last major piece of steel was put into place today at a topping off ceremony. Members of the City Council, the Redevelopment Commission, Barry Real Estate, the Fort Wayne Wizards and the Northeast Indiana community were on hand for the occasion that saw many signatures and messages inscribed on the beam before being raised to is final location on the left side of the stadium’s entrance.

“Today is an achievement in the revitalization of the heart of our city,” said Mayor Henry. “The topping off marks an important point in the construction of the Harrison Square ballpark, just like Harrison Square marks an important point in making downtown Fort Wayne a great place to live, work and play.”

Video: Mayor Tom Henry Speaks (1:00)
Video: Barry Real Estate CEO, Chris Schoen explains the topping off (0:47)
Video: The Ballpark Gets Topped Off (3:31)
[note: sorry for the background vocals on the last video. They were right behind me.]

Gallery: Photos from the event

More Coverage:

• Harrison Square reaches construction milestone (Wane-TV)
• Making Progress (Indiana’s News Center)
• To O’ the Ballpark to Ya (WhatsGoingDownTown)

Here’s a pic I took of my message and name on the Harrison Square beam. It was lifted and secured in place by two workers in Wizards jerseys during a toping off ceremony held today. Definately more pics, video and info to be posted shortly.

 

I’ve written previously about what the Harrison Square development potentially means for the future of Minor League Baseball in Fort Wayne. It could mean many changes, from parent club to Minor League level. While most of that is still in the air, it now appears very likely that 2008 will be the last season for the Fort Wayne Wizards.

In 2009, they will usher in a new era that is likely to include a new team name. In their newsletter that was sent out earlier today, the Wizards announced a new website and a contest to suggest potential new names for the team.

Beginning on Sunday June 15, fans can go online to HarrisonSquareFortWayne.com and suggest names for the team, one of which may be adopted when the team begins play at the new ballpark in April 2009. When the allotted name submission time has expired, team executives and industry professionals will review the submissions to determine the name and identity of the team starting with the 2009 season.

“2009 will begin a new era for baseball in the Fort Wayne area,” stated Jason Freier of Hardball Capital, the team’s ownership group. “This new downtown ballpark will be one of the best in all professional baseball and something the community will be proud to call their own. This team is a part of the community and we want the community to have a hand in establishing the identity of this team.”

“Numerous people have asked us about the name over the years and the inquiries have been more frequent since the new downtown ballpark was announced,” said Wizards’ General Manager Mike Nutter. “More and more we realized that a lot of our fans and partners would like to see a name that is more identifiably and uniquely ‘Fort Wayne.’ If we do change, we would love to have a team name that connects with the community, represents some of the rich history and tradition of leadership and innovation that exemplifies Fort Wayne and that celebrates where we’ve been as a community as well as where we’re going in the future. We know our fans can be very creative and, with their help, we think we’ll come up with something great.”

Bragging rights over a new team name would not be the only benefit available to fans. The team will select one contest participant to receive a prize package that will include season tickets for the 2009 season, a shopping spree in the team store and the opportunity to throw a ceremonial first pitch at the new ballpark on Opening Day 2009.

Community members interested in making their suggestions, or simply learning more about the Harrison Square project, can visit HarrisonSquareFortWayne.com. Submissions are being accepted now through Monday, June 30^th.

The new website features videos, articles and information about the new ballpark, the condos, the retail areas, parking and more.

With the Harrison Square development, many folks have asked me what will happen with regards to the evolution of the Wizards team. They ask me if there will be a name change, league change, what the stadium name will be (presumably if there is one), if there will be a change in Major League affiliates etc. My typical answer: “I Don’t Know.” Here’s what I can tell you.

League and/or Level Change:

I doubt it, but anything is possible. Travel is always a consideration for a minor league baseball team. It not only creates a sense of regional rivalry, it cuts expenses because there is less fuel usage and fewer hotel stays. If you were to few the Minor League Baseball teams according to our region, you’ll see that there are not many options other than the Midwest League. There are 23 MiLB teams in the region. Of those teams, 17 are Class-A teams, one is Double-A and five are Triple-A.

Within the Single-A teams, 14 of the 17 are in the Midwest League. Of the three remaining, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers are in the New York-Penn League; which is Class-A Short Season (a level lower than the Midwest League). The other two teams in Class-A are the Lexington Legends and the Lake County Captains; who are in the South Atlantic League. The “Sally League,” operates primarily in the southeastern United States and is pretty much on the same level as the Midwest League. Moving to this league makes little sense because it would be a lateral move and mean more travel and hotel stays. The only benefit that local fans would see is a change in teams that come through the area.

Double A is pretty much out of the question. The only team within Indiana or any of the surrounding states at this level is the Akron Aeros; who are on the far east side of Ohio.

But what about Triple-A? That would put Fort Wayne at a level just below the MLB and unite them in the International League with the other teams in the region; Toledo, Louisville, Iowa, Columbus (Ohio) and Indianapolis. Methinks this would be the most likely option next to remaining in the Midwest League, but I seem to recall the park in Harrison Square being built to Double-A specs.

Stadium Name:

First there must be someone willing to pony up the money. To my knowledge, this has not happened. That said, the city of Fort Wayne will receive 50% of naming rights revenues (up to $300,000 per year) and 100% of revenues in excess of $300,000 per year. With the city involved in that aspect, methinks it will happen. With the sheer number of business entities using “Three Rivers” in their names, I’d suggest that all of them pool their money together and call it “Three Rivers Ballpark”.

Affiliate Change:

Since the Wizards’ tenure in Fort Wayne, there have been two MLB affiliations; the Minnesota Twins and (currently) the San Diego Padres. I don’t have the evidence to back this assertion, but I would imagine that Fort Wayne has the distinction of being the MiLB team that is furthest from their MLB parent club. Without a doubt, the team would benefit significantly to unite with a parent club that is closer in proximity to Northeast Indiana where there is a denser fan base. The Cubs, White Sox, Reds, Indians, Tigers and Brewers come to mind. If there were a change to Triple-A, the Toledo Mudhens might take up issue if Fort Wayne tried to hook up with the Tigers. Methinks there will be many Padres draft picks taking the field at the yet-to-be named ballpark in Harrison Square in 2009.

But What About the Team Name and Mascot?

Aha, Now here is something were there is evidence to support a change. In 1993, the Wizards came to Fort Wayne and Wayne the Wizard was Grand Marshall of the metaphoric parade. Years later, when General Sports purchased the team, they sent Wayne into virtual retirement where he has been a miserly hermit. He’s lost a step or two in his dance moves, but he is still seen from time to time on special occasions. In his place, Dinger the Dragon appeared and has been the mascot mainstay since that time.

As pointed out by WhatsGoingDown(Town), the mascot and the team name have very little linking to local affinity. I suggested they name Dinger “Mad Anthony” when General Sports held a suggestion contest, but apparently, the NBADL liked it better.

All that said, as of now, there are no definite plans for a name and/or mascot change:

“Freier said he has been too busy with other pressing matters, including getting units in the condominium building sold, to have a name change be a top priority. But he said it likely will be considered, especially because the name Wizards has nothing to do with Fort Wayne. Furthermore, it isn’t unique to the Summit City as Washington’s National Basketball Association team and Kansas City’s Major League Soccer team share the mascot.

Methinks; that when we walk through the turnstiles at Harrison Square in 2009, it won’t be to see the Wizards. However, I do hope we get a chance to see Dinger AND Wayne on hand to pass the torch to an exciting new era in baseball for Fort Wayne and all o Northeast Indiana.

I stumbled onto a new blog today. The blogger, listed only as “FW Citizen” has just two posts as of this writing, so who knows where it will go from here. It can be found at http://accountw331.blogspot.com.

The catalyst for the idea is the re-location of the Fort Wayne Wizards to a new stadium, which will be built in the new downtown Fort Wayne area. This is where the first concerns about the project are visible. The idea is to build around the new stadium and use it as the main attraction for the downtown area. However, the new stadium is costing 30 million and holds the same capacity as the current baseball stadium. This is just the first of several things that will be analyzed in this blog, as we try to look at Harrison Square and the reasoning for the mega million dollar project.

I’ll continue to monitor this one.