City Government
Boise vs Meridian In “Screw Thy Neighbor”
April 13, 2010 
We can’t help but chuckle at all the so-called “partnerships” and “regional planning” schemes put forth by local governments when their real goal is to screw their neighbor.
Latest battle in what the GUARDIAN has dubbed ECONOMIC CIVIL WAR is Meridian’s quest to lure the Hawks baseball franchise away from Boise–even attempting to get the club to work exclusively with the western Ada village-turned city to build a ballpark at taxpayer expense.
We support the idea. If Meridian taxpayers wish to pony up $20,000,000 for a stadium they deserve it. No doubt the good city mother and fathers will ask citizens for permission prior to spending that much. It will save Boise’s pristine air and cut down on traffic in the Capitol City because EVERYONE will obviously flock to Meridian.
The Cubs franchise has chipped in with a $25,000 stipend for a study that will no doubt show Meridian is a better venue and Boise. Meanwhile, Boise will do its own study which will of course show THEY have more to offer. After all, what good is a study if it doesn’t support your preconceived notions?
The DAILY PAPER ran a story today which mentions potential of a AAA ball club in the future. Of course that means Boise will have to expand airport facilities because the bigger leagues play farther apart and don’t have to ride the dumpy “team bus.” Since Boise has a regional airport, no doubt Meridian will kick in with extra funds to improve air facilities to attract new airlines.
In a serendipitous bit of timing, The Portland Beavers are currently looking to build a new stadium. PGE park is being remodeled to host the Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer team, so the Beavers will be without a home park in 2012.
WELCOME TO MERIDIAN! Guv Butch and crew are anxious to take business away from neighboring states and loss of a stadium is a perfect reason to move the Beavers to Meridian. Of course it will mean JOBS…pitchers, catchers, $4 hot dog vendors, grounds keepers–all a boost to the state’s economy.
Lest we forget, Boise’s Mayor Dave Bieter and Team Dave have a survey showing a trolley will stimulate the economy along steel rails buried in the street. How about steel rails all the way out State Street to Eagle and Star with a loop over to Meridian? Eagle officials will no doubt be happy to pay their share of the trolley based on a study that will show it will mean development along the route.
We could have commercial development with luxury condos, libraries, and transit centers throughout the valley. No wonder baseball is called the “great American past time!”
FROM POET PAUL–
Baseballers want a new venue to play
And we taxpayers surely will pay
With our economy on the rocks
Not a new diamond for the Hawks
The field we have now is okay!
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Apr 13, 2010, 11:50 am
Meridian should build the stadium in one of those defunct subdivisions. I’m sure the mayor’s crony friends at Brighton or Hubble have some extra space to sweeten the pot.
Triple-A baseball, while more prestigious in the eyes of our small-town thinking mayors, is the most boring brand of baseball. It’s impersonal because the players are dealing with more levity in their day-to-day lives on and off the field. They are older and either just hanging on during their last days or waiting for a two-week call up to the Bigs.
Teams send their prospects to Double-A cities to develop and prime them for the majors. Triple-A is used as a tune-up and to rest the reserves who are waiting to fill-in for an injured player at the big league team.
It’s really funny to watch how the Valley’s politicos continue to try to justify themselves on a pseudo-national stage. Instead of trying to come up with something truly unique, they want streetcars, Amtrak, Triple-A baseball and Convention Centers. I remember when all they wanted was a freeway bypass and felt that would bring them to the big leagues.
Apr 13, 2010, 12:01 pm
Meridian’s location closer to the center of the population and Freeway makes some sense. However, the absolutely bizzare “one-way/two-way” roads and the bottleneck of a freeway interchange frustrate the crap out of me. That interchange is a joke, and having to drive out there a couple times near rush hour has me convinced that the entire freeway widening from Nampa to Meridian is pointless because that interchange creates a huge bottleneck.
Apr 13, 2010, 1:28 pm
Looks like another CCDC expansion is in the works. Where would Boise situate such a new facility? Dose Garden City have a say in in this since Hawks Stadium sits inside their city limits?
EDITOR NOTE–My guess is that Boise will pitch their white elephant land at 2900 Fairview. It was “perfect” for a police station and now it will be “perfect” for a ballpark. Perhaps they can have kayakers in the river to chase home runs like they do in San Francisco in the Bay.
Apr 13, 2010, 7:04 pm
I’m doing taxes and I do not wish Meridian to dedicate money for anything right now or in the near future or thereafter that will cost me one cent! However, any team that should ever come here should assume an agricultural name, such as the Meridian Moos, to honor the town’s agrarian roots.
Keep it in Boise. I’d rather have the Lifestyle Center.
GO PIRATES!
KTA (yes, too much coffee, but another stimulating blog topic!)
Apr 14, 2010, 6:38 am
What happened to capitalism?
What happened to private companies carrying their own weight?
If a baseball team wants to build a $20 million stadium, on their own dime, great! Good luck and god speed. But, PLEASE, keep my taxes out of it.
Apr 14, 2010, 2:19 pm
Isn’t the current stadium in Garden City, not Boise?
Apr 14, 2010, 3:45 pm
Anyone truely wanting the facts should visit
http://www.rahrinsight.blogspot.com
EDITOR NOTE–This site is run by the Boise Hawks prez and GM. He offers a different view than some and it is worth a read. But consider the source.
Apr 14, 2010, 4:47 pm
If my memory is correct… Hawks Memorial Stadium is in Garden City Limits on ground owned by Ada County. Seems like this isn’t a “Boise” issue.
EDITOR NOTE–Sure as heck is a Boise issue! Boise wants the team–probably along the river in the area of 2900 Fairview. If history is an indicator, they will go about their usual moves to subvert the will of the voters…whatever that will may be.
Meridian also wants a stadium. It all boils down to who will give away the most to the Hawks and any other potential users.
Apr 15, 2010, 9:59 am
Small clarification. The Hawks Stadium, including the fairgrounds, is inside Garden City’s Area of City Impact — but, it is on un-annexed property (an enclave of Ada County jurisdiction, Garden City has no control over the property).
The property BG mentioned, the large tract of land addressed 2800 Fairview Avenue, is just large enough to house the existing Hawks Stadium fenced area — if the two smaller vacant lots fronting Main Street are included in the tract. The First Base line would run parallel to Fairview Avenue.
The downside is that there wouldn’t be any available parking space on this combined parcel. The existing Hawks stadium has a small paved parking area on its site, just outside its fenced area — and the dirt lot on the fairgrounds site accommodates overflow parking.
For Boise to make the 2800 Fairview site work, either the old Goodman Oil site or the former (proposed) private hospital site would have to be used for parking.
On the upside, if the rail line that runs down the bench from Orchard (and the existing steel truss bridge over the Boise River) were re-opened for light rail transit service — then fans could ride light rail all the way from Nampa (and Meridian) to the ballfield.
It should be noted though, the enlarged 2800 Fairview site could not accommodate any ballfield larger than the existing Hawks stadium’s footprint.
If only this website could support image attachments — I overlaid both the Hawks’ Stadium and the SF Giants’ AT&T Park on the existing parcel boundaries. It’s a good comparison between a Minor League Ballpark and the expectations placed upon a Major League Urban Ballpark.
All told, a professional Baseball Park Use is a pretty good fit with downtown urban parcels (if you can figure out parking). Compared to a football stadium, a baseball field brings a lot more activity to the surrounding area — just compare the number of home games between the two sports during a regular season.
Apr 15, 2010, 10:14 am
In the fifties when the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to LA the city of LA wined and dined the McCourts (owners) and gifted them the land in Chavez Ravine to build Dodger Stadium. It was a win-win at the time. The McCourts got free land and the city got family friendly entertainment that helped the tax base.
I think donating land would be a long term positive for the city of Boise if we could get a ball club downtown. The additional traffic downtown would be a boon for many businesses. However, nothing more than the land should be donated. If a privately owned baseball team can’t come up with the money to build their own stadium then I don’t think its worth it.
Apr 15, 2010, 11:41 am
Did anyone notice the article yesterday about the public school district near Dallas that passed a huge bond that includes construction of a 60 million dollar high school football stadium? Hehehehehe.
http://www.mlive.com/forums/newstalk/index.ssf?artid=5593167
Sep 7, 2010, 8:28 pm
Nice piece in the New York Times today (Sept. 8, 2010) on the debt cities across the country accrue for new stadiums (and pay off well after the stadiums are bulldozed for parking lots: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/sports/08stadium.html?_r=1.