Team Dave and a group calling itself the Better Boise Coalition is aiming to commission yet another survey about the feasibility of building a minor league baseball park in Boise.
The Boise Hawks team is affiliated with the Chicago Cubs and their home at Wrigley Field is 97 years old–they just don’t build them like they used to!
We question the need for the multitude of studies, the wisdom of spending public money, and the potential for success.
Currently in the area we have Bronco Stadium, a soon to be built track and high school football facility at the old East Jr. High site, Taco Bell Arena, The Morrison Center, the Centre on the Grove, Qwest Arena, a private concert venue in Eagle, The Idaho Center in Nampa, Nampa Civic Center, Les Bois Race Track, and the Fairgrounds. Is there really a need for yet another venue? The issue is selling tickets, not creating more seats.
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Jul 26, 2011, 7:10 pm
“We question the need for the multitude of studies, the wisdom of spending public money, and the potential for success.”
Just taking care of friends in tuff times.
Jul 26, 2011, 8:43 pm
We love the Hawks and are season ticket holders but come on 1500+ people on a Sunday night even the radio announcer said that was a good turnout for a Sunday……..Boise is an event town and this event is in the right place. The price of tickets is affordable for families, plenty of parking and exiting the venue is hassle free. If there is a need for updated locker rooms or workout facilities takeout one side of the grandstands out a year and rebuild build them, phase the remodel over a couple years. The thought of using the ball field for other things…forget it…as can be seen from the Dave’s note there are plenty of venues for the other stuff…come on……leave a great deal alone or help it grow right where it is……
Jul 26, 2011, 9:14 pm
But Dave, this will bring more people to town. Boise is the Capitol and deserves to have the finest ballpark in the state to maintain the proper image. Who knows if we build a new stadium we might attract a baseball Major League Franchise to town! We could then build a ballpark like the ones we see on TV.
Come on Dave, we’re not building a baseball stadium, we’re building community. People will come to Boise from far and wide just to marvel at this new stadium. What better investment for the future? Our kids deserve this, they will learn how to take steroids to mold themselves into the baseball stars of tomorrow.
Jul 27, 2011, 6:17 am
Surely the spot of choice is on or near the river in west downtown where the City already owns property. What would be really cool would be a trolley from downtown! (joke). No public money should go to this or other entertainment projects.
Jul 27, 2011, 9:29 am
It would be interesting to see the total amount of ‘studies’ performed by the city and county over the last four years. Trolley, parks, baseball stadiums, moving locomotives, auditorium / convention center locations, half way houses, etc, etc, I have this sickening feeling it will be a ‘boatload’ of money when it is all totaled!
EDITOR NOTE–I think former Councilor Tibbs once asked for an accounting and was told there are too many studies, surveys, etc. to find them all and by the time the results were in there would be even more!
Jul 27, 2011, 10:36 am
I think we should just gut the rest of downtown Boise and put a new Hawks stadium, with home plate where City Hall is now located. Maybe then we can get the Boise Hole filled in. Not to say that a downtown stadium would bring folks downtown (Boise is woefully void of pedestrian traffic most of the time). Oh there is no charge for this 5 minute study.
Jul 27, 2011, 3:36 pm
If we could get the trolley in to take folks to the Baseball stadium I think this whole thing might work. Maybe we could flood the baseball field in the winter and have an ice skating rink that the trolley could take folks to.
Wait we already have an ice skating rink…. But the trolley doesn’t go there.
We must figure out some where for the trolley to go!!