To make a short story long...
I first visited Erie in 1994, and I got to like the city. More specifically, I really grew to like the trip to Erie on Route 6. I've made the journey several times over the years, and I read the Erie newspaper just about every day.
Mandalay owns the Erie SeaWolves, a AA minor league baseball team.
Mandalay manages the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.
It seems like a yearly occurrence in Erie. Mandalay says something like "Buy us a new scoreboard, or we might move the team." or "Build us a party pavilion, or we might move the team." The SeaWolves have been shopped around quite a bit under Mandalay ownership.
The two year old grass outfield at the Moosic stadium apparently holds too much water. Mandalay is threatening to move the team out of town, temporarily, if the situation can't be fixed during the year. The drainage system will have to be re-done in the off season.
Call me cynical, but can't you see what's coming? Mandalay has the option to buy the SWB Yankees at a sweetheart price. There are cities that would kill to have a AAA baseball team. Attendance here is weak. There is more money to be made elsewhere. The Newark rumor refuses to go away. The same goes for Albany. Richmond lost its team to suburban Atlanta this year. I'm sure it would like another shot at AAA.
Every bit of peeling paint, every bit of rust, every piece of cracked concrete will be complained about and we'll hear the phrase "You know, we might be forced to move the team..."
The bad economy could work in our factor. No one is willing to throw a bunch of money at a baseball team to get it to move into their city. On the other hand, a city may be looking for the quick economic boost AAA baseball can bring.
The powers that be say we're protected. The Yankees aren't going anywhere. There are a lot of people who aren't so sure.
There are some people should be out in front of this issue. So far, it's been a bunch of e-mails and news releases. Pardon the pun, but it's time for some people to step up to the plate.
Yes, a dry and safe outfield is not a luxury. It has to be fixed, and you can't have players jeopardizing their careers on a dangerous playing surface. I'm sure it wasn't easy to send fans home on what should have been the biggest weekend of the season.
Still, there's something about the team's weekend news release, management's behavior, and the county's behavior that sounded an ominous chord.
We have to be careful.
It might also be time to face facts. Fan support could be a lot better. Look at the numbers. Are we a AAA town? There is evidence to indicate we're AA at best.
It's time for some hard decisions.
