New Britain Rock Cats Moving To Connecticut's Armpit

yeahlunchbox

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 21, 2008
764
Brohamer of the Gods said:
The current lease runs through 2021, with a five year option after that.
 
Thinking about the CT ballpark and the PawSox situation, do you have any idea how easy is it for the PawSox to break/buyout the lease?
 

Brohamer of the Gods

Well-Known Member
Silver Supporter
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
3,947
Warwick, RI
I'm going to go with very easy. One of the stories states the Paw Sox are paying $34,000 a year to RI for McCoy. That sounds obscenely low, but if accurate they could walk away in two years and only be on the hook for $170,000.
 

steveluck7

Member
SoSH Member
May 10, 2007
3,994
Burrillville, RI
The lease is no issue. If the proposed Providence Stadium gets shot down, Hartford would certainly be in play, at least from this new ownership's standpoint. Of course, the stadium would need to be big enough for a AAA team
 

JimD

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2001
8,681
Isn't Hartford off the table for now with New Britain moving there next season?
 

JimD

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2001
8,681
I was recently at a meeting at the Radisson hotel across the street from the stadium site.  The site has none of the charm that you think of when your hear 'downtown ballpark'.  Barring a massive redevelopment of the adjacent neighborhoods or extensive shuttle service to downtown restaurants and bars, I don't see how this becomes anything more than a self-contained experience that patrons drive to and from.
 

MuzzyField

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Shit indeed!
 
The Whalers' color scheme can't even begin to hide the ugly here.  
 
Fans will choose to buy this merchandise, the poor players will have no choice but to wear it.  
 
Congratulations to the design team (they must be the same bunch that developed the arena ball look for the Jacksonville Jaguars) for creating the trademark least likely to be infringed upon. 
 

Papo The Snow Tiger

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 18, 2010
1,409
Connecticut
What's up with the wrong colored Uncle Sam/yankee logo hat stuck on the goat's left horn? All the more reason to dislike it.
 
Has anyone seen anything posted about an Atlantic League team playing in New Britain Stadium next year? I've heard rumors and caught the tail end of an interview with the mayor of New Britain saying it's likely a team will be playing there in 2016, but I haven't been able to find anything on line.
 

Rovin Romine

Johnny Rico
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
23,675
Miami (oh, Miami!)
Hartford.  Re-committing to it's inability to do anything right.  
 
JimD said:
I was recently at a meeting at the Radisson hotel across the street from the stadium site.  The site has none of the charm that you think of when your hear 'downtown ballpark'.  Barring a massive redevelopment of the adjacent neighborhoods or extensive shuttle service to downtown restaurants and bars, I don't see how this becomes anything more than a self-contained experience that patrons drive to and from.
 
But that's the quintessential Hartford experience.  
 
When people ask me about Hartford, I usually say I grew up a 15 minute drive from the downtown.  And that in my HS years and college summers (late 80s, early 90s), I probably randomly drove into Hartford, just to walk around and see what was going on, maybe twice.  Maybe it's changed somewhat, but I doubt it.   
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
I for one am disappointed that a AA baseball team called the Yard Goats didn't come up with the tasteful, elegant design that a city so rich in baseball history no doubt deserves. I mean what are they, the Montgomery Biscuits or something?
 

MuzzyField

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
That logo was on my mind too.  I was working in Montgomery when the Biscuits stadium plan was born... at least Montgomery has high quality gravy to cover that butter sucking biscuit... does Hartford have such mint?


 
P.S. They did build a nice ball yard...
 

Mike F

Mayor of Fort Myers
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 13, 2000
2,068
Papo The Snow Tiger said:
They look like clownish cows.
With only a smidgeon of drool they'd look like
5th generation of inbreeding.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Maybe I shouldn't talk, since I wear my Whalers gear around Brooklyn all the time.
 
But.
 
It's pathetic how every shit pseudo-pro sports franchise in CT tries to glom on the memory of the Whalers somehow.
 
Yes, green and blue.  We get it. Yay.
 

Traut

lost his degree
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
12,750
My Desk
What else do you want them to do? No other team in the area wears those colors. We have the Wolf Pack decked out in Rangers colors. The Huskies are navy, red, and white. The Rock Cats were always red and black. Other than the one or two years the Wolf Pack were the Whale, we've not had green, blue, and silver since. Hartford having an identity isn't bad. I like it.
 

Jeff Frye

New Member
Jul 3, 2007
94
The Constitution State
New Britain will have an Atlantic League (independent) team next year. The New Britain Bees were just announced. Hope to see them have a nice in-state rivalry with the team in Bridgeport.
 

JimD

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2001
8,681
You have to love how the city - I'm sorry, the Hartford Stadium Authority - limits it's contribution to $56 million and then proceeds to take control of the stadium plans where the budget apparently was no object.
 

Rico Guapo

New Member
Apr 24, 2009
2,150
New England's Rising Star
I work in muncipal finance, the authority issued municipal bonds to build the stadium so I was tasked with reading the offering statement (plus I cover the City of Hartford itself), to say this was predictable is a massive understatement. Oh, and the payments to bond holders from the city, subject to annual appropriation...complete train wreck (no pun intended).
 

JimD

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 29, 2001
8,681
This situation is both hilarious and infuriating in equal parts. Everyone involved deserves this mess, including the taxpayers who keep electing people into office who aren't good at their jobs. No wonder so many governmental entities are such a shitshow financially these days.
 

8slim

has trust issues
SoSH Member
Nov 6, 2001
24,829
Unreal America
When do I get to "eat it up" exactly? They don't play a home game for at least the first 2 months of the season because the idiots can't finish the ballpark on time.
 

h8mfy

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
336
Orange County, CA
So, they seem to have miscalculated how easy a home run would be, and added netting, which is in play:

"Now the question becomes, are people going to want to sit out there?" he said. "I think folks will embrace it quickly."

Yard Goats General Manager Tim Restall agreed, saying the area will be ideal for fans with young children who want a safe place in the park to socialize and enjoy the game.

"It just adds to the ambience. You're behind the net, you have safety checked," Restall said. "We see this as a great asset."​

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hartford-yard-goats-dunkin-donuts-park-quirk-0422-20160422-story.html
 

shaggydog2000

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 5, 2007
11,482
So, they seem to have miscalculated how easy a home run would be, and added netting, which is in play:

"Now the question becomes, are people going to want to sit out there?" he said. "I think folks will embrace it quickly."

Yard Goats General Manager Tim Restall agreed, saying the area will be ideal for fans with young children who want a safe place in the park to socialize and enjoy the game.

"It just adds to the ambience. You're behind the net, you have safety checked," Restall said. "We see this as a great asset."​

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-hartford-yard-goats-dunkin-donuts-park-quirk-0422-20160422-story.html
You done messed up A-A-Ron!

I love the attempt to put a positive spin on a complete screw up that was evident really early in the process. Although it sounds like the Eastern League were idiots about it too, changing their minds after construction was under way.
 

Cuzittt

Bouncing with Anger
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Nov 20, 2001
20,301
Sinister Funkhouse #17
I went yesterday and bought directly. They might be selling them directly off the CT Tigers site though.

Of course, that is assuming those series in early June will move to Norwich. Nothing has been announced as of yet.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
I suppose that playing in New Britain makes too much sense/would show how absurd the whole fiasco is?

Couldn't Muzzy be pressed back into service? Fond memories of going to games there. They renovated it recently IIRC.
 

Traut

lost his degree
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
12,750
My Desk
I suppose that playing in New Britain makes too much sense/would show how absurd the whole fiasco is?

Couldn't Muzzy be pressed back into service? Fond memories of going to games there. They renovated it recently IIRC.
New Britain now hosts the New Britain Bees - an independent league team. Not to mention the City of New Britain, a blue collar place if ever there was one - hates the Yard Goats. I would imagine Philly like treatment of Santa towards mascots.