Al Doyle
Minor League News
Hurricane Katrina’s path of destruction struck several minor league stadiums and arenas. Hurricane Rita sent even more leagues, teams, and arenas scrambling as it turned on the Western sections of the Gulf coast. Both storms altered baseball schedules, training camps, and closed down one ECHL hockey club for the season.
Throughout the region, ballparks are becoming staging grounds for emergency and relief workers, and covered arenas are serving as emergency evacuation facilities.
"We did cancel our last seven home games, some of it due to minimal damage at the ballpark," said Mississippi Braves assistant general manager Jim Bishop of the brand-new Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi, where some light poles in the parking lot were bent and the scoreboard was nicked. “We could have played, but literally everybody around us was without power. People couldn't get gas to go to work. Canceling was the right thing to do."
Smith-Wills Stadium, home to the Jackson Senators of the independent Central League, sustained minimal damage, and has become a center for disaster relief for that Mississippi town.
What was a line for beer and hot dogs is now used by the Red Cross to serve up soup and fresh water. “Some of the utility linesmen have used the parking lot to sleep in, and they come into the park to shower."
“All the people from the coast - Biloxi and Gulfport - migrated up here." said Senators general manager Craig Brasfield. "We haven't said no to anybody."
The Central League Pensacola Pelicans have endured a pair of major storms this season, taking a brush from Dennis early in the hurricane season.
“There was a lot of debris. Some of our speakers, lights and fencing were knocked down,” Pelicans’ coach Talmadge Nunarri. “We play at the University of West Florida, and the campus was closed for over a week."
Several Pelicans players were stranded by Katrina.
"One of our pitchers - Bubba Dobson - lives in Mississippi, and some of our guys live west of New Orleans," Talmadge said.
Displaced families and workers are staying at the Civic Center, known locally as "The Hangar" in downtown Pensacola Home of the Pensacola Ice Pilots, a Toronto Maple Leafs farm club in the East Coast Hockey League, that club does not appear to have its season affected.
The same cannot be said for the ECHL Mississippi SeaWolves, who filed for franchise suspension last week in the wake of damage to their building and the devastation of the surrounding community.
The Mobile BayBears of the Southern League lost their final two home games at Hank Aaron Stadium to Katrina.
The park will need extensive work before the 2006 season,” said BayBears general manager Bill Shanahan.
“We lost two sections of the outfield wall. The awning over our field level seats was destroyed. There was some flooding in the lower level facilities."
"We've had three hurricanes and two tropical storms in the past year," said Shanahan, citing five lost games as part of the damage that the weather has brought. “This was the fifth largest rainfall in Mobile since 1844."
Here too the stadium has become a hub of relief operations.
"The Alabama Power Co. has set up a central headquarters here," Shanahan said. Workers are using the facility for offices, showers, and to garage 500 power trucks.
Despite the problems, Shanahan has no complaints.
"Even though we had a lot of damage, we feel fortunate compared to Gulfport, Biloxi and New Orleans," he said.
Where Will The Wind Blow the Zephyrs?
From aerial photos of emergency staging efforts that are being based at the 11,000-seat Zephyr Field in suburban Metairie, the damage appears to be minimal.
“From what I understand, there is very little damage to the stadium.” said Tuscon Sidewinders GM Rick Parr, who has been in contact with New Orleans execs. “The stadium is being used by FEMA and the Red Cross as a headquarters for recovery efforts.”
Pacific Coast League vice president George King said relocation had not been considered.
"We're letting the situation play out," he said. “There is no precedent aside from the San Francisco earthquake in 1906."
The team has said that it will be in operation in Metairie in 2006.
Parr believes baseball could play a role in reviving the city's spirits.
"They'll need things like baseball to help bring back a sense of normalcy. One of the best things they could do is to play baseball and make it a focal point for the entire city of New Orleans."
VooDoo Cursed
While the Zephyrs will have until next spring
to get ready to play ball, the city’s football teams do not
have that luxury. Unfortunately for pigskin fans, there will be no
pro football played in the Crescent City in 2005-06.
The Arena Football League’s New Orleans
VooDoo recently announced that the team will not compete in the upcoming
2006 season due to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina, including
the damage sustained by the New Orleans Arena.
VooDoo owner Tom Benson, who also owns the NFL’s
New Orleans Saints, said the club had no other alternative but to
suspend play.
“Factors beyond our control are forcing us to make this decision,” said
Benson, “We will not have a facility available to us to play
our games, we will not be able to house players and staff and we will
not be able to utilize our practice facility as it is being used by
the government for Hurricane Katrina operations.”
Benson will continue to employ the team’s
administrative staff and head coach Mike Neu, meanwhile a dispersal
draft will be held for the players under contract to the VooDoo.
Players not selected in the dispersal draft will become free agents.
Team officials will immediately begin preparations
for the VooDoo’s
return, and a vote taken by the AFL Board of Directors will move the
city of New Orleans to the top of the list of cities that will host
future ArenaBowls.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the people of New
Orleans,” said AFL Commissioner David Baker. “This decision
was made with heavy hearts. We looked at a number of alternatives but
felt it was in the best interests of the city, team and its fans to step
aside and allow them to concentrate on more important things. When the reconstruction is complete, the AFL hopes to bring the ArenaBowl to the greatest party city in the world.”
Rita Roils the Lone Star State
Hurricane season rolls on. Executives from Corpus Christi to Bossier-Shreveport have been preparing for the storm that was tagged as the fifth most powerful hurricane in measured history as late as Thursday morning.
The Corpus Christi Hooks and the Ice Rays breathed a sigh of relief as the storm shifted Eastward taking them out of significant harm’s way.
The AHL Houston Aeros were likewise spared the direct brunt of the storm.
Last year, the triple whammy of hurricanes rocked the Florida State League, and caused damage to Central Baseball League facilities.
Thus far, the damage to ballparks and arenas has been surprisingly minimal.
What has been of great comfort to many communities, where the loss of so much life and property makes the damage to any entertainment facility seem trivial, is that many of these places that bring a quality of life to calmer times become valuable places of shelter and staging grounds for recovery.
