On his new blog, Mr. Burghart, editor of the Reno News & Review, replied to my post (RN&R: The Worst ‘Worst of’ Ever) criticizing his paper's editorial about the Reno Gazette-Journal's editorial praising the groundbreaking for the ballpark as a "new day." As his post is dated March 7, I apologize to Brian for not visiting his blog sooner.
He raises some valid questions. It's unfortunate he chose not to do so in his obscene RN&R piece. In fact, his blog post would have made a much better editorial, but he chose to waste those column inches on a juvenile attack on the RGJ.
Mr. Burghart throws down the gauntlet:
So, since you’ve taken on the role of “mouthpiece” for the ballpark, why don’t you answer these questions before you rush to the defense of a smoke-and-mirrors magic trick and a conflicted newspaper’s whored-out editorial staff?
Oh, it's on now, mister.
Q. Have you ever heard of a groundbreaking for a government construction project taking place without full funding or a contractor in place?
A. Well, as city spokesperson Terri Hendry pointed out in her voicemail to you, it's not really a government project. I grant you that the "groundbreaking" was something of a publicity stunt to blunt the natural public skepticism that this project would ever get done. There's no question that Reno has had its share of out-of-town developers swooping in and promising the moon, then delivering squat. It's all the more sensitive given the public monies committed.
There has been progress however:
- Demolition of the River Apartments and the Freight House train shed is complete.
- Downtown Makeover reports Reno redevelopment director Mark Lewis told the Citizens' Advisory Committee that the developers have tapped Devcon Construction as general contractor, and indeed, Devcon signs have gone up on the site.
Q. And while we’re asking questions, since Northern Nevadans have not supported semi-pro or collegiate baseball for a very long time, where are these fans supposed to come from?
A. It's unfair to conflate "semi-pro or collegiate baseball" with Triple-A baseball, which is a decidedly superior product in both talent and presentation.
If we are to believe the RGJ, "[m]ore than 1,300 season-ticket reservations… have been made since construction began Feb. 25." Given that depositors had to plunk down $105 for the privilege, and that the team has yet to advertise (aside from the free publicity of the groundbreaking), I'd say that's a pretty good indicator of initial fan support.
You forget that Reno supported the Class-A Silver Sox/Padres from 1955 to 1992. The team moved away not because of poor attendance (they drew 105,346 in their final year), but rather because the city council refused to renovate a crumbling Moana Stadium. Heck, even the AA-equivalent Chukars drew more than 52,000 at Moana in their first season (1996), despite having no major-league affiliation, a substandard facility for even A-ball, a smaller population base, and no talent to speak of. The "new" Silver Sox have drawn so-so at UNR's bare-bones Peccole Park (fourth in the independent Golden League at 1,291 per game in 2007).
The key to sustaining fan interest is quality. The Sidewinders' affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks practically guarantees a fine on-field product. Whether the stadium will measure up is an open question, but I am hopeful SK Baseball will deliver on that front as well.
Q. And how about this: Where is the plan for keeping the seats filled at that stadium? Has the university been approached to hold baseball games at the new stadium? How many college tournaments is our stadium scheduled to host? And hey, wouldn’t it have been a great idea to build a multi-use facility that could have soccer and concerts and football and what-have-you?
A. You're joking about that last part, right? Major league teams have been knocking down or abandoning multi-purpose parks east and west: D.C., San Francisco, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Philly, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Houston, Baltimore, Denver, New York (Shea), Seattle. Multi-purpose parks are jacks-of-all-trades, masters of none, and soulless relics not sorely missed. They suck for baseball.
The developers have spoken of holding concerts in the ballpark, but the venue will be unsuitable for outdoor events half the year regardless.
Q. Here’s the enabling legislation from the 2003 Nevada Legislature. Be sure and follow the link at the bottom. Why don’t you take a look for whether that car rental tax money can be used to build anything but a baseball stadium, its parking and required buildings? So where’s the money for relocating the fire station or the bus station supposed to come from? I guess since this money is constrained to build a baseball stadium, a multi-use facility that could actually make a return on investment goes out the window. This reminds me of designing the bowling stadium as a single-use facility. I wonder what else this stadium will have in common with that boondoggle.
A. The bowling stadium is a boondoggle because it's not open to the public. Bowling is not a spectator sport. It's not even a sport. Comparing it to baseball is silly.
As for the bus station, it was in the works long before the baseball stadium, and isn't part of the deal anyway. Like its Sparks sibling, 80% of the RTC 4th Street Station's construction funding is coming from the feds, and that money can't be used to build anything but a transit facility. There's nothing unusual about tax money being limited to building certain types of projects.
Here's the relevant definition from the legislation you cite (emphasis mine):
“Minor league baseball stadium project” means a baseball stadium which can be used for the home games of an AA or AAA minor league professional baseball team and for other purposes, including structures, buildings and other improvements and equipment therefor, parking facilities, and all other appurtenances necessary, useful or desirable for a minor league baseball stadium, including, without limitation, all types of property therefor.
Sounds open to a pretty broad interpretation.
The city asked for and received a $10 million loan from the developers to move the fire station. It turned out to be a wholly inadequate sum, and those "temporary" replacement stations will still be in use 20 years from now. The firefighters definitely got the short straw in this deal.
And yes, Brian, I misspelled Keith's first name. I apologize to Mr. Olbermann for that, too, and I shall refrain from pointing out that you added an extraneous apostrophe to "shows" in your very first blog post.
So, big guy, you're the poo-poo head. Nanny-nanny-billy-goat! (Runs away.)
