On his first trip to Idaho, many years ago, Tom Ricketts visited Redfish Lake, hiked through the Sawtooths and played golf in Sun Valley.
He returned to Idaho on Monday, and the owner of the Chicago Cubs saw a much less pleasant site — the cramped and dilapidated Boise Hawks clubhouse at Memorial Stadium.
Ricketts, whose family took control of the storied but World Series-starved franchise in 2009, toured the ballpark as part of his franchise-wide look at minor-league facilities.
He didn’t like what he saw — and without saying so directly, he tied a new or improved stadium to a continued agreement between the Cubs and Hawks, their short-season Class-A affiliate.
“The facility here is below standard,” Ricketts said. “All the (minor-league) facilities we have are substantially better.”
The high-profile visit allowed the City of Boise and the recently created Better Boise Coalition to again stump for the Treasure Valley Sports and Entertainment Complex, a multi-use facility that would house the Hawks and other sports and entertainment events, including potentially a minor-league soccer club. Mayor Dave Bieter proclaimed Monday as “Chicago Cubs Day.”
“I don’t want to wake up realizing we’ve lost baseball in Boise,” said Marc Johnson, a leader of the Better Boise Coalition, which is pushing the new stadium.
It’s clear Memorial Stadium is outdated. It’s equally clear that building a new stadium is going to take a lot of yet-unfound money.
The Hawks have long complained about the inadequacies of Memorial Stadium, which was built in 1989 for $2.3 million in private money. The stadium lacks many of the amenities that have become commonplace in minor-league baseball and, according to Ricketts, are needed to build a first-class organization.
The clubhouse doesn’t have enough room for 40 or so players, coaches and roving instructors. It has two toilets and urinals. It lacks a film room, a place to eat and a room for players to relax before or after games. One batting cage, a small training room and an undersized dugout need to grow. It lacks a place to do laundry, a daily chore for a baseball team.
“We want to have the best organization in baseball. That includes having training facilities at every level of the organization that are representative of a great organization,” said Ricketts, who said he has not had conversations with any other city about changing affiliations. “... We’re very, very supportive of the efforts here in town. It would be a good thing for the Cubs organization to have a better park here for us."
The Cubs control and pay for scouting, player development and coaching. The Hawks are responsible for the stadium, its maintenance and upkeep. The current agreement between the clubs runs through the 2012 season.
What Ricketts, whose family fortune is estimated at more than $1.2 billion, did not offer was money to pay for the new stadium. Nor did any of the Hawks’ owners from Boise Baseball LLC, which is based in Houston and Seattle.
If both had stepped up with a cool $1 million for the new stadium complex, it would have given the project a tremendous start and, perhaps, a springboard.
Instead the Better Boise Coalition is including donation forms on a brochure — $500, $1,000, $1,500 or $2,000 donations accepted — making it clear the community is going to be responsible for the tab, estimated around $25 million.
“There’s a lot of smart guys in the room here that will solve the problems for what works best for the city and what works best for the Hawks,” Ricketts said.
And if they don’t, Ricketts won’t have to worry. The Cubs will find a city willing to house its short-season Class-A affiliate, another city willing to build a stadium.
The cramped Memorial Stadium clubhouse isn’t a problem he has to solve, just a stopover.
Brian Murphy: 377-6444
