Regina Red Sox hoping for new Ballpark
TEAM president Expects quadruple-digit Crowd in ATTENDANCE For Tuesday’s GAME
Gary Brotzel isn’t inclined to grandstand about the possibility of a new baseball stadium being erected in Regina.
But such a complex, if it does come to fruition, would be the culmination of determined efforts by the president of the Western Major Baseball League’s Regina Red Sox.
“I’ve been an advocate (of a new stadium) for three years,” said Brotzel, who has had numerous discussions with City of Regina representatives and various interested parties.
“It has kind of taken off in the last six months, hot and heavy, so we’ll see where it goes.”
Several incarnations of the Red Sox have played at Currie Field, which is showing its age and limitations — especially when four-figure crowds turn out for a WMBL game.
“It wasn’t built to handle 1,200 people,” Brotzel said. “I’ve met with the city millions of times. That’s why they’re involved in trying to get the new park built.
“I think they realize that 60 years is enough for that place and it’s time to move on and get something better for the next 60 years.”
In the interim, though, the Red Sox are doing the best they can at Currie Field, where they are to oppose the Medicine Hat Mavericks on Tuesday in Game 3 of the WMBL’S best-of-five championship series.
“The field is getting a year older every year,” Red Sox general manager Bernie Eiswirth noted. “That’s just a fact. We’re trying to put little things in place to keep it up, but it’s just getting old. It’s time.
“I think Regina deserves a better location for good-quality baseball. When you go through Alberta, Lethbridge has two stadiums. Okotoks has a beautiful place. Edmonton has a big Triplea stadium that is probably too big for our league, but it’s nice. Fort Mcmurray has a beautiful place. That’s probably more of a template for us.
“Medicine Hat has the old Blue Jays (minor-league) stadium, so those are all stadiums that they have in Alberta, with grandstands. It helps their bottom line, too, because there’s more ability to make some cash. They have three or four different places where they can have concessions. They can have dressing rooms and bathrooms — the stuff that stadiums have and that we don’t have. We have a field. It’s just different.”
The same can be said of the Red Sox, comparing the current state of the team to the one Brotzel and Eiswirth re-established for the 2005 season.
“Those days are long gone,” Brotzel reflected. “We had pretty meagre budgets when we started, compared to being over $400,000 and approaching $500,000 now. We’re not having any trouble financially, so that makes it a lot easier.
“Our average attendance this year was an all-time high. We’re approaching 750 a game for the year, compared to last year when we were about 625. That’s pretty gratifying. We know we’re doing something right when our attendance keeps going up, up and up.”
Which is appropriate for a facility located in Uplands, even if the ballpark is far from ideal.
As for Tuesday’s anticipated crowd, Brotzel said: “I’d be disappointed if we don’t hit quadruple digits — 1,200 or 1,300, I would hope.”
That projection is based on the buzz he has detected since the Red Sox rallied to eliminate the Weyburn Beavers in the Eastern Division final.
Weyburn, which had a 37-11 record, won the division’s regular-season crowd. Regina, which placed third at 26-21, ousted the defending-champion Swift Current 57’s (28-20) in Round 1 before outlasting Weyburn.
“Just following the Twitter feeds and Facebook likes and everything else, you get a pretty good feel for how much excitement there is,” Brotzel said.
“There seems to be a lot of it right now. Every time I check my phone, someone else is sharing or retweeting. That usually indicates a good crowd.”
Medicine Hat scored in all but one inning en route to winning Sunday ’s opener, 8-5, before 1,284 spectators at Athletic Park.
Regina held leads of 2-0 and 4-3, but the Mavericks kept chipping away.
Zack Gray homered for Medicine Hat, which got three RBI from Carson Johnson. Brooks Stotler had two solo homers for Regina. Wesley Moss also cleared the fence for Regina.
Game 2 was to be played Monday night in Medicine Hat.
The field is getting a year older every year. That’s just a fact. We’re trying to put little things in place to keep it up, but it’s just getting old.
It’s time.