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Diamond Lessons Learned
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Business New Haven
7/7/2003
By: BNH
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Think that Portland, Me. has nothing in common with New Haven, Conn.? You may be right. One reason is that Portland's minor-league baseball team, the Sea Dogs, has a problem New Haven's baseball mavens wish they shared: Not enough seats.
The Sea Dogs recently tied a team record for a series at Hadlock Field, drawing three straight sellout crowds of 6,975.
Baseball-wise, the two New England cities have more in common than one would think: Both communities host teams in professional baseball's AA Eastern League - New Haven's Ravens and the Sea Dogs, which develop players for Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, respectively.
Beyond that, the communities are something less than identical. For example:
o New Haven has twice as many people (population 123,000) as Portland (64,000). (With regard to the metropolitan areas, the discrepancy widens: New Haven County has 793,208 residents, while Portland's Cumberland County has a population of 265,612.) If you were choosing a host city for a baseball team, you would obviously take the one with way more people, right? Like, duh.
o New Haven has a ready-made baseball facility: historic Yale Field. Not only was it "ready" made but, history-wise, ranked right up there with baseball cathedrals like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were here. President George (H.W.) Bush played here, So did his son, President George (W.) Bush. History sells; just ask Gettysburg. Decision: New Haven in a walk.
o New Haven has a long professional sports history: The New York Yankees had a minor-league affiliate in West Haven for years. The legend of hockey's Blades at the old New Haven Arena still colors discussions about the demise of Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Now, play "Guess Which City."
o In one city, baseball fans travel hundreds of miles for the privilege of buying tickets to a ballgame. Guess which city.
o In one city, the local ABC TV affiliate, known to viewers as "Channel 8," foregoes network programming to carry six of the local team's games. Guess which city.
o Of the city's political leadership, the local daily reports, "There is rarely a [insert your favorite baseball team's name here] function or major announcement without a city official present." Guess which city.
A June 29 story in the Portland Press Herald comparing minor-league ball in Portland and New Haven cited "apathetic city officials" for the demise of the New Haven franchise. Elm City defenders would say that, gosh, there's just so much to do in New Haven that baseball sometimes gets eclipsed.
Ravens General Manager Adam Schierholz is slightly more sanguine: "I still think there's room for improvement in how we treat, appreciate, and support a team in New Haven." He adds, "Hopefully we'll do it better if and when we are afforded another opportunity."
After September 1, the Ravens are outta here forever, bound for greener pastures in Manchester, N.H. Another community that, frankly, shouldn't be able to carry New Haven's jockstrap.
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