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If You Build It…Will They Come? Although it's not in the middle of a cornfield, John Q. Hammons did construct a $32 million stadium without having a team to play in it. Did his gamble pay off? Jonathan Roybal Minor League News

09.02.04 - Businessman John Q. Hammons built it, and now the Cardinals are coming to Missouri.

Despite some serious criticism, Hammons risked his reputation (not to mention a portion of his fortune) by building a state-of-the art stadium in Springfield, without first securing a team to play there.

You might say that Mr. Hammons, a hotel developer with a company worth more than a half billion dollars, sure knows a good investment when he sees one.

Now, Springfield will be the new home of the St. Louis Cardinals' Double-A farm team, fulfilling a promise made by Hammons to bring the city a minor league baseball team by opening day 2005.

Hammons was joined by St. Louis president Mark Lamping, in presenting the new Springfield Cardinals to the community during a press conference on August 24.

The deal was made possible when the Cardinals purchased the El Paso Diablos franchise on August 18 from Brett Sports and Entertainment, whose ownership includes Kansas City Royals hall-of-famer George Brett.

The Cardinals will relocate the team and will begin play next season in Hammons Field, a newly built $32 million dollar stadium in downtown Springfield.

"It's a really a top of the line stadium," Hammons tells MLN. Mr. Hammons proclaimed from the time he announced plans for the 8,000-seat stadium in February 2002, his intentions were to have an affiliated team as the primary tenant.

Ready & Waiting: The Springfield Cardinals will begin play at the state-of-the-art Hammons Field in 2005.

The facility was constructed with all the amenities needed for a Double-A club, including indoor batting cages along with 28 private skybox suites, a souvenir shop, upgraded clubhouses and concessions.

"Bringing the Springfield Cardinals to Hammons Field is a homerun, and I welcome the St. Louis Cardinals organization to our community," said Hammons.

Hammons is quick to note that before the sale can be made official, Minor League Baseball as well as the Texas League, must still vote on admitting the franchise.

Yet, when asked by MLN whether he anticipates any problems arising, Hammons was equally rapid with his response.

"Absolutely not, do you think we'd ever gone this far if there was?"

Over the summer, denials regarding the sale poured in from everyone including the El Paso Diablos, the Texas League, and Minor League Baseball.

Hammons however, steadfastly maintained that affiliated baseball would be played at his park by next season.

"The market is here," said Hammons, who claims to have had 12 other franchises inquire about the stadium. "Southwest Missouri is a tremendous sports market."

Despite having so many teams to choose from, a partnership with St Louis always made the most sense to Hammons.

"This is big Cardinals territory," he stated.

The fans in Springfield seem ready to play ball, and according to Mr. Hammons, more than 8,000 season ticket requests were made in just over 24 hours.

While talk of the new team is nothing but positive for Springfield, this recent agreement will have some varying repercussions.

Some will reach far beyond the Ozarks, and some will happen just right next door.

Snake Bitten

The sale of the Diablos will leave the Arizona Diamondbacks without a Double-A affiliate for the time being.

Nonetheless, it doesn't take Hammons-like foresight to realize that the D-Backs are sure to get a new team long before El Paso does.

As it stands, the city of El Paso, with a population of 563,662, will be without baseball for the first time in three decades.

For how long though, depends on whom you ask.

Brett Sports and Entertainment, who sold the Diablos to the Cardinals for an estimated $9.8 million, are reportedly interested in bringing a Triple-A team to the area.

However, former El Paso Diablos owner Jim Paul has expressed doubt in the local press that Triple-A Baseball can survive in El Paso.

"If Brett is able to bring a Triple-A team to El Paso, that would be good, but I don't honestly believe we can support it, based on my 25 years of experience. The cost of operating a Triple-A team is much higher than Double-A." Paul recently told the El Paso Times.

It also seems that for the time being, the Triple-A Pacific Coast League has no interest in moving into El Paso.

When MLN asked if El Paso is indeed a viable Triple-A market, George W. King III, Director of Business and Baseball Operations for the PCL hedged.

"I'm going to defer from comment because it's currently a market that is a territorial asset of the Texas League, so I'm not going to infringe on that," stated King.

Meanwhile, Brett Sports insists that renovations upwards of $4 million must be made to 14-year-old Cohen Stadium before a new Triple-A team can be brought in.

They recently submitted a list of repairs to the mayor's office, which includes a new scoreboard, skyboxes, clubhouse improvements, and some concession upgrades, among other work.

El Paso Mayor Joe Wardy has gone on record stating that the city would not consider any upgrades until there is a team in place to play at the stadium. (You'll have to ask the baseball fans in Springfield how happy they are that John Q. Hammons did not have a similar lack of faith.)

Still, baseball in the border city may not be dead just yet.

"The other alternative for baseball in El Paso is the independent Central League," Andy Billig of Brett Sports and Entertainment tells MLN.

Billig added that Brett Sports has already been in talks with the Central League and "it looks likely that some ownership group will have a team in El Paso, even if it's not us.

"I think that there's going to be a team named the El Paso Diablos playing in Cohen Stadium in 2005," said Billig, whose company still owns the rights to the team's name and logo.

In addition to the city of El Paso, two other minor league franchises will be affected by the recent proceedings.

Bye-Bye Birdies

The Cardinals purchase of the Diablos also leaves their former Double-A affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, in search of a new major league affiliate.

According to Smokies president Doug Kirchhofer, Tennessee's split with the Cardinals was very amicable.

"We've enjoyed our relationship with the Cardinals for the past two years. We wish them well. It looks like a great business opportunity for them," Kirchhofer recently told the Associated Press.

Tennessee officials have reportedly expressed a desire to have another affiliate in place by the end of September.

Endangered Ducks

Furthermore, with Double-A baseball coming to town, the area's independent league team, the Springfield-Ozark Ducks, could become a casualty of overpopulation.

The Ducks' attendance figures are the lowest in the franchise's six years and the stadium lease expires at the end of the 2004 season.

While advertising revenue is sure to suffer with the additional competition, the more important task for the Ducks will be putting butts in the seats.

The Frontier League team is averaging fewer than 1,500 fans this season at Price Cutter Park, and having affiliated competition only 10 miles away will probably reduce those numbers even further.

Apparently, the Ducks have already been somewhat clipped and have lost their director of baseball operations, Shawn Kraft.

When contacted by MLN for comments on this story, the receptionist at the Ducks front office stated, "Mr. Kraft is no longer with the office."

Prompted for further clarification, she stated that she was not at liberty to divulge any additional information and deferred to team spokesman Woody Schuler.

Schuler did not return messages left by MLN.