Augustin_"Gus"
09-02-2006, 04:09 AM
Here's an interesting newspaper article about the demise of the Ottawa Lynx and the state of baseball in general in Canada.
They'll soon be the missing Lynx
canada will lose last triple a team when il leaves ottawa after 2007
Canadian Press
OTTAWA
Sports fans in the nation's capital just didn't seem to root, root, root for the home team enough, so Canada's last triple-A baseball team is slated to head south of the border.
The International League has approved the majority sale of the Ottawa Lynx to owners who want to move the team to Allentown, Pa. If all conditions of the sale are met by next November, they'll play the 2008 season in their new city.
"The last several years it's been quite a struggle and I don't think it's at all reflective of the commitment of the current owner or current management," league president Randy Mobley said in an interview from Dublin, Ohio.
"I think the fans that come out to the ballpark have a great time, but it's simply a fact that attending a triple-A baseball game doesn't seem to be a high priority for a lot of folks."
The team itself, meanwhile, continues to deny the move, even as newspapers in Allentown talk about construction of a new ballpark beginning next week.
"Our position is we haven't been sold and Ray Pecor is still the owner," said spokesman Andre Cormier.
There's a Welland connection to the Lynx, the top farm team for the Baltimore Orioles. The team's radio broadcaster is Welland native Sean McCart, who was still in college when he broke into the business as the public address announcer for the Welland Pirates of the New York-Penn League.
Ironically, that single-A team also left Ontario for Pennsylvania, relocating to Erie following the 1994 season.
Although there are other professional minor-league baseball teams in Canada, such as the Vancouver Canadians or the Winnipeg Goldeyes, the Lynx were the next biggest team in Canada after the Toronto Blue Jays.
When they first came to Ottawa in 1993, they broke league attendance records. The public flocked to the beautiful new downtown stadium that is still regarded as one of the best minor-league venues in North America with a natural grass and clay field.
They won the league championship in 1995. But the honeymoon was shortlived and now the Lynx have the lowest attendance record in the league: an average of about 1,800 seats filled in a stadium that holds more than 10,000, despite ticket prices that only go as high as $11.
Tom Valcke of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., said the loss of the Lynx will ultimately affect the overall level of interest in baseball in the country.
He points out there are more Canadians playing in Major League Baseball today because young players in the early to mid-1990s were charmed not only by the successful Jays and Expos, but also by Canada's then four triple-A teams.
"It's neat to go and see players who aren't famous just yet, and a couple of days you can say to your son 'Remember him, we saw him playing in Ottawa.' Now those are spine-tingling things that you remember," said Valcke, once general manager for the Calgary Cannons, a now-defunct triple-A team.
"And it's easy to get an autograph when you go to a triple-A game, these guys are accessible ... those are the things that instil passion into our youngsters for baseball, when they can't afford to go the SkyDome. That's why we need triple-A and minor league baseball in this country."
Over the past decade, triple-A teams have closed up shop in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. Vancouver's current team is the single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics while Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg are now home to teams from the independent Northern League.
This is also the second time in as many years that Ottawa has lost a major sporting team. The Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League folded following last season.
Lynx fan David Sali said he'll miss watching triple-A ball.
"I just loved the atmosphere. It's a great park, there's not a bad seat in the place," said Sali. "On a beautiful summer day there's nothing I'd rather do than watch a ballgame."
They'll soon be the missing Lynx
canada will lose last triple a team when il leaves ottawa after 2007
Canadian Press
OTTAWA
Sports fans in the nation's capital just didn't seem to root, root, root for the home team enough, so Canada's last triple-A baseball team is slated to head south of the border.
The International League has approved the majority sale of the Ottawa Lynx to owners who want to move the team to Allentown, Pa. If all conditions of the sale are met by next November, they'll play the 2008 season in their new city.
"The last several years it's been quite a struggle and I don't think it's at all reflective of the commitment of the current owner or current management," league president Randy Mobley said in an interview from Dublin, Ohio.
"I think the fans that come out to the ballpark have a great time, but it's simply a fact that attending a triple-A baseball game doesn't seem to be a high priority for a lot of folks."
The team itself, meanwhile, continues to deny the move, even as newspapers in Allentown talk about construction of a new ballpark beginning next week.
"Our position is we haven't been sold and Ray Pecor is still the owner," said spokesman Andre Cormier.
There's a Welland connection to the Lynx, the top farm team for the Baltimore Orioles. The team's radio broadcaster is Welland native Sean McCart, who was still in college when he broke into the business as the public address announcer for the Welland Pirates of the New York-Penn League.
Ironically, that single-A team also left Ontario for Pennsylvania, relocating to Erie following the 1994 season.
Although there are other professional minor-league baseball teams in Canada, such as the Vancouver Canadians or the Winnipeg Goldeyes, the Lynx were the next biggest team in Canada after the Toronto Blue Jays.
When they first came to Ottawa in 1993, they broke league attendance records. The public flocked to the beautiful new downtown stadium that is still regarded as one of the best minor-league venues in North America with a natural grass and clay field.
They won the league championship in 1995. But the honeymoon was shortlived and now the Lynx have the lowest attendance record in the league: an average of about 1,800 seats filled in a stadium that holds more than 10,000, despite ticket prices that only go as high as $11.
Tom Valcke of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys, Ont., said the loss of the Lynx will ultimately affect the overall level of interest in baseball in the country.
He points out there are more Canadians playing in Major League Baseball today because young players in the early to mid-1990s were charmed not only by the successful Jays and Expos, but also by Canada's then four triple-A teams.
"It's neat to go and see players who aren't famous just yet, and a couple of days you can say to your son 'Remember him, we saw him playing in Ottawa.' Now those are spine-tingling things that you remember," said Valcke, once general manager for the Calgary Cannons, a now-defunct triple-A team.
"And it's easy to get an autograph when you go to a triple-A game, these guys are accessible ... those are the things that instil passion into our youngsters for baseball, when they can't afford to go the SkyDome. That's why we need triple-A and minor league baseball in this country."
Over the past decade, triple-A teams have closed up shop in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. Vancouver's current team is the single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics while Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg are now home to teams from the independent Northern League.
This is also the second time in as many years that Ottawa has lost a major sporting team. The Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League folded following last season.
Lynx fan David Sali said he'll miss watching triple-A ball.
"I just loved the atmosphere. It's a great park, there's not a bad seat in the place," said Sali. "On a beautiful summer day there's nothing I'd rather do than watch a ballgame."