GatewayRedbirds.com

Not Cards-related, but the West Michigan Whitecaps' ballpark had a bad fire yesterday. They are the Tigers' affiliate in the Midwest League.

Article about it:
http://mwltraveler.com/2014/01/03/major ... -ballpark/

Slideshow with photos:
http://photos.mlive.com/4469/gallery/fi ... ex.html#/0


They are supposed to host the MWL All-Star Game this year. They are saying they are going to rebuild as best they can and use it for opening day. The field is OK, but one clubhouse and a ton of suites are gone or badly damaged.

If it's anything like our minor league team around here they have until June to really do the work. Crowds are pretty sparse-ish until Memorial Day.

jim wrote:If it's anything like our minor league team around here they have until June to really do the work. Crowds are pretty sparse-ish until Memorial Day.

Yeah, general crowd-wise it probably won't be a big deal. Those luxury suites are sold for the whole season and are a big source of their income though. They will have to discount those (or something) for those sponsors that bought those this year. I wonder if insurance also helps them with lost revenue and not just building repairs. In the big scheme probably not a big deal, but definitely a pain and a hit to them this season.

They got it mostly rebuilt in time for their opening day it sounds like:
http://rivergrandrapids.com/watch-a-tim ... -ballpark/