NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 11-21-07, by JOHN DEIKE, Morning Journal Writer
[Baseball Stadium Progress]
``AVON -- ... Mayor Jim Smith ... is hustling to provide his city with multiple recreation opportunities ... Smith, Planning Coordinator Jim Piazza and two groups of architects will soon be driving to Dayton and Florence, Ky., in order to look at ball parks comparable to the one they want to build in Avon, Smith said ...
The stadium will cost between $8 and $9.5 million, it will have a bowl shape and hold about 5,000 people, and instead of grass, artificial turf will be used, Smith said ...
Since the $13.5 million recreation center will lie adjacent to the stadium, the two projects will be built in conjunction with each other, right off Interstate 90, Smith said.
Within the next two weeks, Smith will choose an architect for the recreation center which he wants to have two swimming pools and fully equipped exercise areas, he said.
One pool will be used for competitive swimming for the local schools, and one of the exercise rooms will overlook the third base line of the baseball field, Smith said.
In terms of the budget, the Cleveland YMCA will pay for $5.5 million of the construction costs and assume the operating costs, and the city will pay for the other $8 million with the money generated from the new 0.25 percent income tax, Smith said.
As for the baseball field, the incoming owners of the minor league team will cover 40 percent with the rest coming new income tax paying for the construction costs, and the owners will pay for the yearly maintenance of the field, he said. The baseball field will be used by the minor league team, residents and recreation baseball teams, Smith added.
''This multi-million dollar project will act as an economic driver for the city since hotels have shown interest in building near the planned construction site, and since developers have shown interest in building two hockey rinks in the area,'' Smith said.''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 12-28-07, by Lisa Roberson
[Stadium Architects Chosen]
``AVON -- The minor league baseball stadium the city plans to build will offer intimate seating for 3,500 and many amenities that will make it stand out in the community, according to the architect team slated to design the ballpark.
Christopher Wynn, director of design at Cleveland-based Osborn Architects and Engineers, said the project -- which could cost as much as $9 million -- will have family-friendly amenities while still drawing on the design concepts of turn-of-the-century ballparks. It will be similar in size and capacity to Champion Window Field in Florence, Ky., home of the Frontier League's Florence Freedom.
The best feature of the ballpark by far will be the seating, Wynn said. "The whole beauty of minor league baseball is that no stadium is built with those nosebleed kinds of seats," he said. "All the seats will be excellent, very intimate."
Avon Mayor Jim Smith said Osborn and RWL Architects, another architecture firm, will team up on the design concept and engineering of the stadium. Contracts will be inked soon to formalize the decision, but both companies have committed to the project ...
The stadium, along with a YMCA recreation center, will anchor a 122-acre recreation complex at Interstate 90 and state Route 611 that could eventually feature a Lorain County Metro Parks water park, ice hockey and skating rink, indoor soccer facility, tennis courts and youth football and soccer fields.
City residents are footing the bill with a voter-approved 0.25 percentage point income tax increase that will raise $1.2 million a year over the next three decades to build the $14.2 million YMCA center and city-owned stadium.
In describing the stadium, Wynn said fans will enter on a main concourse level that will allow patrons to walk down toward the field. For ballgames, the seating capacity with be about 3,500 and as high as 5,000 for special events.
The design includes a press box, 11 suites with movable walls, two team clubhouses, restrooms, picnic areas, a kids" fun zone and parking for 1,200 to 1,300 cars. A grass berm along the outfield edge will allow families to spread out a blanket for the children as they watch a game.
And, while traditional ballpark food like hot dogs and Cracker Jacks will be staples, Wynn said the design team may add a restaurant near right field that will offer more substantial cuisine. The restaurant would be independent of the stadium but overlook the field.
Lastly, the lighting will not only illuminate night games, but it will also serve as a beacon welcoming visitors to the city ...''
Contact Lisa Roberson at lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 4-14-08, by Jason Hawk
``Avon ballpark to open in June 2009
AVON -- The sun is shining, the grass is green and the Tribe is playing again. It's baseball season in Northeast Ohio.
But if you want to root, root, root for the minor league home team, it's going to be another year. Avon Mayor Jim Smith said he wants to break ground sometime next month [5-08] on a 5,000-seat baseball stadium at the corner of Interstate 90 and state Route 611. The ballpark will open the first week of June 2009 and will be home to a brand-new Frontier League expansion team.
It's not all about hot dogs and home runs, however. Smith said the field and a new YMCA next door will be a safe place for teens to hang out and will also pump a lot of cash into the local economy ...
Avon might have been able to swing the cost of its own recreation center, Smith said, but partnering with the YMCA of Greater Cleveland and the Frontier League will give about 295,000 people in a 10- or 15-mile radius a perfect place to exercise and have fun.
Smith said he expects about 2 million people a year to visit the stadium, driving up local tourism and bringing a host of new businesses to the Interstate 90 corridor, including a hotel, restaurants and offices. There will be plenty for adults to do, too, including a party patio with beer and concessions, loges and tie-ins with local company fitness plans.
Smith said the stadium will be a lot easier to build than an office building or Avon's police department, so it won't take nearly as long to finish. The YMCA, meanwhile, should be complete by December 2009, he said.
Terri Manns, vice president of fund development for the Cleveland YMCA, said her organization needs about $5.2 million to build the new athletic facility, which will include a traditional gym, hockey rink and swimming pool.
A big part of that will come from a 0.25-percent income tax increase passed by Avon voters in November [2007]. The tax will raise $1.2 million a year over the next 30 years to build the $6 million to $9 million stadium and the $14.2 million YMCA.
In the past few months, officials have decided to call the site the French Creek YMCA in Avon, Manns said.
Once finished, the facility will create about 85 new jobs, YMCA of Greater Cleveland President Glenn Haley said. "The ramifications for the economy of the entire county are tremendous," he said ...
Manns said her organization pumped $8.6 million into the regional economy when building the Lakewood YMCA in 2005 and 2006. The site pays out $1.1 million a year in wages and generates $300,000 in federal, state and local tax revenue ...
The YMCA of Greater Cleveland doesn't have any link to the old Lorain or Elyria YMCAs, Manns said. The groups were separate nonprofits run by different management. For information about donating to the new YMCA project, call (216) 263-6844 or e-mail tmanns@clevelandymca.org
Smith said the Frontier League is locked into the new stadium deal, but there's always a 5 percent chance that the deal will fall through. Lorain officials fell into that 5 percent gap when the league decided not to put a team at the brand-new Pipe Yard. "That's not going to happen here," Smith said.''
Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 4-29-08, by The Morning Journal Staff
[Work continues on Avon recreation center]
``AVON -- Construction of a new Avon YMCA recreation center and minor league baseball park can soon begin following the passage last night [4-28-08] by City Council of an ordinance for the excavation of new land acquired at the site.
The site at SR 611 and Interstate 90 has already been cleared and is preparing for the ''the first shovel of dirt,'' in construction of the facility, according to Avon Engineer Michael Bramhall. The ball park is scheduled to host games as soon as June of 2009.
Avon Mayor Jim Smith said council passed the measure unanimously. Now the city will seek quotes for grading the recently-acquired land, which measures about 20 acres. ''It has to be graded to meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements,'' Smith said. The grading should cost about $60,000, he said.
Avon passed a 0.25 percent income tax in November [2007] to fund a ballpark and recreation center, which is set to include two swimming pools. Some of the costs for the recreation center will be covered by the YMCA of Greater Cleveland ...
Bramhall said that when the site was cleared, the city discovered that the land drains rapidly to a nearby runoff ditch. The excavation will move the soil and control the sediment runoff.
''It's preparing the land for development,'' Bramhall said. The project is starting to get underway and will be ''going out to bid within 30 days,'' said Bramhall.''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 6-17-08, by Steve Fogarty
``Avon awards contract to build new ballpark
AVON -- The city is a few steps closer to hearing the crack of the bats and smelling the aroma of hot dogs and popcorn fill the stands of the city's new 5,000-seat minor league ballpark slated to open in June 2009.
During a special City Council meeting Monday night [6-16-08], the city passed legislation approving a contract with Avon Ballpark LLC, the company that will oversee operation of the Frontier League Single-A expansion team, and awarded an $11.3 million bid for construction of the facility.
With ownership groups based in Topeka, Kansas and Chicago, the company has agreed to a 15-year lease, the terms of which call for the firm to pay the city $250,000 at a rate of $50,000 a month for the five months the team will play baseball, according to Avon Mayor Jim Smith. "In addition to paying us that amount each month, they will do all the maintenance and upkeep."
The 15-year lease includes three five-year options that could extend the lease to 30 years. The company will also invest $2.5 million in equipment, a substantial portion of which will cover the cost of outfitting the ballpark's kitchens, which will supply everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to catered meals and buffets for the stadium's 11 loges. The $2.5 million will also cover the cost of office equipment, computers and phone systems.
The ballpark will be built by Infinity Construction, a Cuyahoga County firm. The $11.3 million bid includes $400,000 for a sophisticated, high-tech scoreboard, but that cost may in the end be paid for by a corporate sponsor whose name would adorn it. "The figure could go back to $10.9 million, but for now, we're leaving that ($400,000) in," said Smith.
[On 6-9-08, at a regular meeting, the Avon Council approved a bid for $5.2 million from Terrace Construction of Cleveland for roads, sewers, and water for the French Creek Recreation Complex, bringing the total so far for infrastructure to about $7 million.]
The ballpark will be paid for from a 0.25 percent income tax passed by voters in November 2007. The issue is expected to generate $1.2 million a year for the next 30 years to pay for the stadium, as well as a good portion of the cost of a new regional YMCA, which has a projected price tag of $14.2 million.
Work to clear the Interstate 90 and state Route 611 site for the ballpark, regarded as the crown jewel of a complex that will include a new YMCA and businesses from restaurants and hotels, began about a month ago.
Smith expects an official groundbreaking within the next couple of weeks. "They've got to be substantially ready to go by June 1, 2009, although they have the option of scheduling some away games for a few weeks if they're late, completing construction, he said.
Smith said the new stadium should get a real workout hosting not only a standard 48-game Frontier League season, but a large number of high school and college games, in addition to community concerts, as well as larger affairs featuring big-name entertainers.
"The stadium seats 5,000, but for concerts we can put people on the field and that should bring us up to 8,000 to 9,000," he said. "We still have to work out the details for all of that. This is going to do the whole county a lot of good."''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 6-17-08, by ANTHONY RIOS and CHANDA NEELY, Morning Journal Writers
``Dreams of baseball become a reality for Avon
AVON -- The dream has become a reality as professional baseball will soon be in the city of Avon. Avon Mayor Jim Smith signed a contract with the team's owner National Sports Center to form Avon Baseball LLC.
''We have a contract with them for five months for $250,000,'' Smith said. ''They'll pay us $50,000 a month to use the field for five months, but they will take care of the maintenance for 12 months.''
National Sports Center is based in Blaine, Minn., and opened in 1990. The 600-acre campus is the world's largest amateur and meeting facility, according to the company's Web site.
Avon Council unanimously voted to accept a $10.9 million bid [plus $400,000 for a score board = $11.3 million] from Infinity in Warrensville Heights to build a new 3,500 seat baseball stadium on SR 611 at Interstate 90.
''We got a good bid,'' Smith said. ''We could add a few things and (the cost) could be a little more or we could take a few things away and it could be a little lower. It came in just about where we wanted it.''
A Frontier League expansion team will play its home games at the new stadium. There will also be opportunity for area teams to play on the field and concerts to be held at the venue.
''They will use the field for five months out of the year and our high school kids will be using it when they don't have a game,'' Smith said. ''(The expansion team) plays a 48 game season starting in June. Our high school kids will play most games on the field.
''For a little more, we got a turf field,'' Smith added. ''When you have regular grass, you can use it about 60 to 70 times a year before the grass starts to burn out. This way, you get 100 to 120 uses without burning the grass out. It doubles the ability to use the field.''
A name for the team has yet to be determined. Completion for the stadium is projected for May 2009.''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 5-1-08, by the Morning Journal Staff
``Bramhall, Herzer new co-chairs of YMCA effort
AVON -- Attorney David L. Herzer and engineer Michael Bramhall will be heading up the YMCA of Greater Cleveland's Healthy Communities Campaign to build a new Y in Avon.
''We are thrilled to have two such key individuals to help us lead our capital campaign,'' said Glenn Haley, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland. ''Their leadership will no doubt make a tremendous difference as we work to raise the needed $5.2 million to complete the construction of the new French Creek YMCA at Avon.''
The organization is campaigning to gain support for the new YMCA that will be constructed in Avon at SR 611 and Interstate 90. Groundbreaking on the new 66,527-square-foot facility will be later this year. It is scheduled to open in December 2009.
Herzer, 63, of Vermilion, is the president and chief executive officer of Wickens Herzer Panza Cook & Batista, Lorain County's largest law firm and located in Avon.
The Lorain High School graduate also graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. He is a director or trustee of more than 100 corporate boards.
Bramhall, 38, of Avon, is the president of Bramhall Engineering and Surveying. The professional engineer and land surveyor is the city engineer for Avon and several other Lorain County municipalities. He also has worked on several large scale design build projects throughout the country.
Bramhall serves on the board of the Lorain County Community College Foundation, the North Coast Regional Chamber of Commerce and Community Health Partners as well as the board of trustees of Lake Ridge Academy. He is past president of the North Coast Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The French Creek YMCA is being built on a 122-acre site at SR 611 and I-90 and will be a cornerstone of the new recreational complex, which will include a minor league baseball stadium and several soccer fields. It is being designed by Doty and Miller Architects.''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 5-20-08, by SCOT ALLYN, Morning Journal Writer
``Avon project manager to keep eye on new complex
AVON -- As work moves forward on Avon's recreation/sports complex on SR 611 at Interstate 90, the city has hired a manager to oversee contractors for the project.
Charles Palenko was approved last night unanimously by Avon City Council for a minimum one-year contract as construction project manager. Avon Mayor Jim Smith said Palenko will work on the project, including a minor-league baseball stadium and a YMCA, until both facilities are done.
Completion date for the 3,500-seat baseball stadium is May 2009, and a 65,000-square-foot YMCA is scheduled to finish in December 2009.
With a post office also scheduled to begin construction this summer at the city's municipal campus on Detroit Road, Avon Service Director Jerry Plas will be busy, Smith said.
[Avon entered a lease agreement with the United States Postal Service in December 2007 to build a 8,300-square-foot post office. The City will finish building the shell of the building by the end of 2008, lease it to the Postal Service; and they will finish the inside to their specifications. The old post office was built about 20 years ago and is only about 4,000 square feet.]
Palenko has worked in construction for 25 years, and has overseen projects in Columbus and for Midview Schools. ''We want Palenko in from the start,'' Smith said. ''It's good for the city to have eyes and ears on the scene for the project.''
Avon has filed for permits with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and topsoil at the 122-acre site has been removed. Bids from contractors on the first phases of the project are due back to the city in about two weeks, Smith said. Installation of lines for sewers, water, electric and gas should start this summer.
The stadium, in a traditional red brick design, will include 3,500 fixed seats, with room for 1,500 more spectators outside the outfield fence, on a mounded picnic area. It will be home to a Frontier League expansion team that has yet to be named, according to Smith.
Estimated to cost $13.5 million, the YMCA is being designed by Bedford-based Doty & Miller Architects, with input from the YMCA of Greater Cleveland.
Avon voters approved a 0.25-percent income tax last November to pay for the project.''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 5-8-08, by Steve Fogarty
``Avon YMCA expected to be countywide draw
AVON -- Officials of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland say the new $14.2 million French Creek YMCA may be built in Avon, but it is designed to attract residents from all of Lorain County.
Plans also call for increased and expanded programming at a new $450,000 facility in Lorain, and additional YMCA programs and services offered in collaboration with Elyria's YWCA. The new Elyria programs are expected to cost $150,000, according to YMCA of Greater Cleveland officials.
"Our key focus is that this will be a regional facility," said Glenn Haley, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, who said the new 66,527-square-foot YMCA will be within reach of the majority of Lorain County residents.
Designed as the centerpiece of a 122-acre recreation-sports complex planned for state Route 611 at Interstate 90, the new YMCA will feature an eight-lane indoor pool with spectator seating, an aerobics-multipurpose studio, child-care center, family gym, sauna, steam rooms, whirlpool and wellness center. Ground will be broken this year.
While some details of the Avon facility have been previously announced, Wednesday was the first time officials had disclosed specific plans for Elyria and Lorain.
"That's been a big question on the minds of many people here," Haley said. "This isn't just an Avon facility. Our goal is to serve the entire county again." ...
About $8 million of the price tag for the new Y will come from a 0.25 percent income tax levy approved by Avon voters last November that will generate approximately $1.2 million annually for 30 years. The remaining $5.7 million of the $14.2 million cost of the facility will be generated through a fundraising campaign.
The Avon sports complex also will contain a planned 5,000-seat minor league baseball stadium slated to open in the summer of 2009. The tax revenue also will help build pay the estimated $6 million to $9 million cost for that.
Because Avon residents passed the income tax levy, they will receive discounted monthly membership rates, which typically range from $15 for teens to $76 for families. But the YMCA's open-door policies means efforts will be made to offer its services and facilities to as many people as possible, regardless of their ability to pay, officials said.
Operating and maintenance costs of the Avon Y will be paid for through the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, which has no connection to the defunct Y operations in Elyria and Lorain. Those were run by unrelated nonprofit agencies. The Avon facility is expected to have an operating budget of $2 million and employ 85 full- and part-time workers.
Haley said YMCAs in Lakewood, Geauga County, Columbus and Youngstown operate through similar financial arrangements that incorporate local tax revenue with money provided through fundraising efforts.''
Contact Steve Fogarty at sfogarty@chroniclet.com.
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Sun, 6-19-08, By Bryan Story, bstory@sunnews.com
``AVON -- Plans for a minor league baseball team and a stadium to host it are coming closer to reality for the city.
At Monday's City Council meeting [6-16-08], members voted to approve an $11.3 million contract with Infinity Construction, a firm based in Warrensville Heights, to build the 5,000-seat stadium. [The stadium will include 3,500 fixed seats, with room for 1,500 more spectators outside the outfield fence]
The contract is exactly what the city was looking for, said Mayor Jim Smith, who added that it could be changed slightly if corporate sponsors come into play.
Specifically, Smith mentioned that the stadium's proposed $400,000 scoreboard could be paid for by a sponsor who could then advertise on the board.
The project is up against a tight schedule with the city planning to have the first games played at the stadium in May or June 2009.
During the same meeting, council approved a contract with National Sports Center, creating Avon Baseball LLC, the company that will oversee the operations of the new baseball team.
The 15-year contract requires Avon Baseball to pay the city $50,000 per month for the five months per year that they will use the ballpark, a total of $250,000 per year, according to Smith.
"The team will pay us for their five months and they will also be in charge of maintenance and upkeep at the ballpark," added Smith.
Besides playing host to the new baseball team, the city has plans to utilize the ballpark for high school and recreation league games as well as concerts and other events.
According to Smith, the city was willing to pay a little bit extra to have an artificial turf field put in instead of grass. "...with turf we can double the amount of days we can use the field, making it available for about 120 days each year," said Smith ...''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 7-2-08, by SCOT ALLYN, Morning Journal Writer
``AVON -- Avon Mayor Jim Smith hosted a formal groundbreaking yesterday [7-1-08] for the city's 3,500-seat baseball stadium off Miller Road by Interstate 90, where a yet-to-be-named Frontier League expansion team will take up residence next summer.
The site was only a muddy field with a rutted gravel road, construction equipment and trucks, but baseball fans could almost hear the crack of a bat, the roar of the crowd and smell the roasting hot dogs of the 2009 season ...
The benefits of the project to greater Lorain County were emphasized by speakers including Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee; Matt Perry, chief executive officer of National Sports Services, which is bringing the team to Avon; and Steve Edelson, a Chicago real-estate developer who will be the principal owner of the team.
Lee said Avon's team will be the 13th in the Frontier League. ''With the interstate access and visibility, this should be a fantastic success,'' Lee said. ''People want to stay close to home, and our motto is 'take the ball park to the people.'''
He said the Frontier League is in the dinner theater business. ''We feed people and give them three hours of entertainment, which happens to be a baseball game.'' Lee said game tickets would cost around $10. Perry said National Sports Services, which is based in Topeka, Kan., is eager to join the Lorain County community.
Last month, Smith entered into a 15-year lease agreement with National Sports Services. The company will pay the city $50,000 a month for five months, but takes care of maintenance throughout the year. In addition, the team will own naming rights to the stadium for the lease period, Smith said.
After the groundbreaking, Edelson said several factors contributed to his interest in owning a baseball team in Avon.
''First, the Greater Cleveland market is one of the best, in terms of corporate, government and community support,'' he said. ''They got back a football team they lost, and there is a lot of development here. Second, the site is fabulous. Third, Mayor Smith had the courage and foresight to make this key piece of real estate a center for youth and family activity by funding this project.''
Avon voters approved a 0.25-percent income tax last November to fund the baseball stadium and YMCA recreation center. Avon City Council accepted a $10.9-million bid last month from Infinity Construction Co., of Warrensville Heights, to build the stadium.
[Avon City Council approved a $10.9 million bid June 16, 2008, from the Infinity Group of Warrensville Heights to build the stadium on about 9 acres. The site is being graded, and sewers, water lines and roads are being built for the stadium and a 65,000-square-foot YMCA recreation center next door The stadium will include parking for 1,500 vehicles and offer an additional 1,500 lawn seats on mounds surrounding the outfield.]
Jim Fantozzi, vice president of operations for Infinity Construction Co., said the company hopes to have a roof up by January 2009, and have the field installed by April or May. Topsoil was stripped away from the field yesterday [7-1-08], and clay is being spread over the area, Smith said.
Fantozzi said the field is already at correct grade level, but the seating and concourse area of the stadium will have to be raised 7 to 8 feet, using 12,000 cubic yards of fill dirt ...
Groundbreaking for a 65,000-square-foot YMCA recreation center, to be built near the stadium, is expected in August, Smith said. The YMCA is scheduled to be open in December 2009, and an indoor hockey skating rink and an indoor baseball training facility will follow.''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 7-2-08, by Stephen Szucs
``City, league officials break ground on ambitious baseball complex
AVON -- This time next year, travelers along Interstate 90 in Avon will see a red brick, 5,000-seat stadium booming with baseball.
Avon Mayor Jim Smith was joined Tuesday [7-1-08] by Frontier League representatives and developers for the official groundbreaking on the new city-owned stadium, a project nearly three years in the making ... [and] packaged with a YMCA-operated recreation center ... The 67,200-square-foot rec center will have its own groundbreaking ceremony in August [2008].
A brand-new Frontier League expansion team will call the stadium home and will be among 12 other teams in the league that includes the Traverse City Beach Bums and the River City Rascals.
Naming the new team will be left to the community, said Matt Perry, a partner in the team's investment group, Avon Ballpark LLC.
"We'll have a public 'name the team' contest that'll be focused on a regional type of name," he said. "We want people from Elyria and Lorain and western Cuyahoga County to feel like this is their team."
Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee said people should expect a 'dinner theater' type of experience when they come to the ballpark -- one where they can eat while being entertained. Combine that entertainment with visibility of and accessibility to I-90, Perry said, and fans will come out in droves ... Tickets will cost about $10, and fans can sit in one of the 3,500 stadium seats, or one of the 1,500 lawn seats.
Even though the left field foul line can now only be traced along a northern span of remaining trees, Avon resident Tim Mitchell said he's impressed with what he's seen and with what?s slated to come.
"I've lived in Avon my entire life and didn?t realize all this space could get turned into this," he said, with his 6-year-old son Grant by his side. "You drive back here and it just hits you. I'm sure I?ll be a season ticketholder when that opening season rolls around."''
Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.
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Comment from maerd, 7-2-08
``To a lot of kids that can't get a chance in one of the other leagues the chance to just play ball: not to mention these kids would probaly rather get 800.00 to 1200.00 a month to play ball than work at home depot. I know the talent for the Captains which are a class a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians is a lot better. I have not had the chance see the Captains and would like to.
As far as the Frontier league in Avon goes, I will be able to go there more often just because it is a lot closer and with gas so high I will not be able to afford to go to the east side of Cleveland. There are also players from this league that have made it to the Majors with one of the players being named National Player of the week in his first week with the San Diego Padres.''
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