Saints Introduce ‘Mackleboar’

PRESS RELEASE – The St. Paul Saints are one of the most prominent Independent League Baseball teams in the country.  In searching for one of their most iconic members of the 2013 family it was only appropriate they looked towards a musician who has risen to fame without using a major record label.  Fans will want to flock to the Thrift Shop, but My Oh My the Saints hope Midway

Financial Problems Threaten Future of 78-year-Old Tournament

An internal audit of the city-owned National Baseball Congress’ books shows its operators, the indy pro Wichita Wingnuts (American Association), are more than a quarter-million dollars in debt and two years in arrears to the city on lease payments for Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.  Read more here.

Saints Block Party, Largest Game of Catch, Naming of the Pig Set for Next Week

PRESS RELEASE – The St. Paul Saints circus is coming to downtown St. Paul.  There will be pigs, nuns, baseball players, inflatables, food and fun and is the block party to end all block parties.  It’s the Hiway Federal Credit Union World’s Largest Game of Catch, in conjunction with the Greater St. Paul Building and Managers Association (BOMA).

Mother’s Day Is Joplin’s Time to Shine

Mike Beatty from The Joplin Globe makes a pitch for fans to turn out in force at century-old Joe Becker Stadium on Mother’s Day, May 12, to watch the indy pro American Association’s Kansas City T-Bones and Wichita Wingnuts play an exhibition game.  Locals hope to show the league that Joplin is capable of supporting a franchise.  Read more here.

Saints 2013 Promotions Highlighted With ‘This is Twinkie Territory’

PRESS RELEASE – It’s a beautiful day in our neighborhood as the 21st season of St. Paul Saints baseball officially kicks off Thursday, May 16. Twinkies, food trucks and donuts will satiate the hunger pains from a long off-season. Don’t worry we will have TP for the BM after all that gorging. Fans will get the Hall of Fame treatment with dollar bills handed out at the gate, but for those wanting their

Saints to Play Umpireless Game, Will Use Judge and Jury

PRESS RELEASE – In ballparks across the country, “Three Blind Mice” often blares over the speakers when they are introduced.  Fans will heckle them, managers will argue with them and every close call they make is scrutinized.  The men in blue on a baseball field often wish they could disappear when thousands of people are against them.  The St. Paul Saints will make that happen for

New Ballpark Designs Released, Site Passes Environmental Muster

The city of St. Paul has finalized an environmental assessment of the Lowertown site for the new $54 million, 7,000-seat ballpark for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association). Meanwhile new preliminary designs of the developing stadium have been released.  Read more here.

Mayoral Candidate on Ballpark: ‘There’s Going to be (Parking) Chaos’

Tim Holden is a small business owner and political novice who has been inspired to run against St. Paul (MN) Mayor Chris Coleman because of the chaotic and tragic parking situation he says will occur in Lowertown St. Paul when the new ballpark for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association) is built.  Read more here.

Mayor Gives Thumbs Down to St. Paul Parking Idea

St. Paul (MN) Mayor Chris Coleman said Monday that reusing part of the vacant Gillette/Diamond Products factory for parking below St. Paul’s future Lowertown ballpark for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association) won’t work, for both cost and design reasons.  Read more here.

Wingnuts Ditch Long-Time Cashless Payment System at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium

PRESS RELEASE – The Wichita Wingnuts announced Wednesday that Lawrence-Dumont Stadium will be accepting cash at all events for the 2013 season.

Sioux Falls Canaries Return!

PRESS RELEASE – Sioux Falls Sports LLC, the ownership group of the Sioux Falls Pheasants and Sioux Falls Stampede, made several major announcements concerning the Sioux Falls Pheasants baseball club on Tuesday.

T-Bones and Wingnuts Will Play Exhibition in Joplin, Expansion Talks Continue

The indy pro American Association’s Kansas City T-Bones and Wichita Wingnuts will play an exhibition game in Joplin (MO) on May 12 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Joe Becker Stadium.  The game also could help determine interest for bringing a team to the market.  The league’s director of expansion visited Joplin back in January, but from our 10,000 foot view, the market is a tough sell.  Joe Becker

U. S. Steel Signs 10-Year Pact to Retain Stadium Naming Rights

PRESS RELEASE – U.S. Steel and the Gary SouthShore RailCats have reached a new 10-year naming rights agreement, keeping U. S. Steel Yard the name of the RailCats’ home stadium through the 2022 season.

Two Public Meetings This Week On New Saints Stadium

Citizens, fans and other stakeholders  interested in voicing their opinions about the design and construction of the new ballpark in Lowertown St. Paul for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association) will have a chance to do so Tuesday night before the Lowertown Ballpark Design and Construction Committee.  On Wednesday, an open house has been scheduled to discuss the ballpark’s

Public Invited to Comment on Ballpark Environmental Assessment

The City of St. Paul (MN) is seeking public comment on its Environmental Assessment Worksheet of the Lowertown site slated for the new $54 million ballpark for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association).  The deadline to submit comments is April 3, 2013.  Read more here.

First Step Taken for Booze at New Saints Ballpark

We are not exactly sure why this was necessary, but Minnesota State Sens. Sandy Pappas and Richard Cohen have introduced S.F. 823, a bill to authorize the St. Paul City Council to issue an on-sale liquor license to the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association) for the new Lowertown ballpark scheduled to open in 2015.  Read more here.  View legislation here.

Synthetic Turf Installed at QuikTrip Park

PRESS RELEASE – The Grand Prairie AirHogs announced today that the new synthetic turf field has been completely installed at QuikTrip Park. Hellas Sports Construction began the $1.1 million project to replace the natural grass in November and completed the installation last week.

City Finalizes New Ballpark Contract with Ryan Cos., Design to Start From Scratch

The city of St. Paul (MN) has finalized the contract with Ryan Cos. to design and build the new 7,000-seat ballpark in Lowertown for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association).  The first order of business will be to scrap the original design concepts.  Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and be completed in time for the 2015 season.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the news.

Foul Ball Lawsuit Fails

In a 14-page decision, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled against a plaintiff who filed a lawsuit after being hit and injured by a foul ball during an indy pro Gary SouthShore RailCats (American Association) game.  Read more here.  View ruling here.

Goldeyes Get Their Championship Bling

We don’t typically talk about wins, losses, or league titles here unless there is some other significance, like the design of a championship ring.  Well, the indy pro Winnipeg Goldeyes (American Association) just received their hardware for winning it all in 2012.  Read more and view photo gallery here.

American Association Championship Ring – Winnipeg Goldeyes Facebook Photo

Diablos Broadcaster Heads to Jacksonville

PRESS RELEASE – The voice of the Diablos in 2012, Play-by-Play Broadcaster Matt Leland, will be heading east to Jacksonville, FL for 2013 to be one of two Play-by-Play Broadcasters for the Jacksonville Suns, the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

Prostate Cancer Screening/Foam Finger Giveaway Gets Noticed on Tonight Show

We recall the indy pro St. Paul Saints’ (American Association) Inflatable Bat Night sponsored by Viagra from a decade ago, but we must have missed the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ (International League) Prostate Cancer Awareness Night with a foam finger giveaway from last season that was spoofed on the Tonight Show Monday night.  Read more and view ad here.  View Leno clip here at the 00:59 mark.

Edinburg Chooses Most-Recent Tenant Over Ventura Sports Group

The city of Edinburg (TX) in November put the lease to Edinburg Stadium up for bid, after the owner of the indy pro Edinburg Roadrunners (North American League/United League) were late in making lease payments.   In the end, the city decided to stick with the Roadrunners over Ventura Sports Group, the owner of the indy pro Laredo Lemurs (American Association).  Read more here.

Huge Surprise (Sarcasm): Ryan Cos. Selected to Build New Saints Ballpark

As expected, Ryan Cos. has been selected by the city of St. Paul (MN) to design/build the new $54 million ballpark in Lowertown for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association).  Read more here.

Sioux City Exporers Add to Front Office

PRESS RELEASE – The Sioux City Explorers are pleased to announce the addition of Tim Odle to the X’s front office staff.  Tim will join Assistant General Manager, Ashley Schoenrock and General Manager, Shane Tritz as a full time employee in the X’s front office and will serve as a Sales Executive for the organization.

AirHogs Hire New GM

PRESS RELEASE – The Grand Prairie AirHogs have named John Bilbow the team’s new general manager. Bilbow comes to the AirHogs after three successful years as the owner/operator of two local restaurants. Before that, he served as the Fort Worth Cats’ vice president and general manager from 2007-2009.

Amarillo Ballpark Update

Sugar Land (TX)-based Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, the private development group partnering with the city of Amarillo (TX) on a downtown revitalization plan that could bring a new ballpark, hotel, and parking garage to a site adjacent to Amarillo City Hall and Amarillo Civic Center, updated Amarillo Local Government Corp. on Wednesday about progress being made to create

Pre-Bid Meeting for New Saints Ballpark Brings Out the Competition

Previously chosen builder Ryan Cos. may have some competition.  Representatives from more than 60 companies, including general contractors, architecture and engineering firms, and specialty contractors, showed up at a mandatory pre-bid meeting Wednesday for the $54 million contract to design and build the new stadium for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association).  Read more here.

Filling the Void at Regions Park

Now that the Double-A Birmingham Barons (Southern League) are headed to a fancy new ballpark in downtown Birmingham (AL), the city of nearby Hoover is moving forward to hire two individuals to manage events at Regions Park.  While the indy pro American Association has explored bringing a new team to the stadium, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency on the part of the city to replace the Barons.

Saints Issue RFPs for New Ballpark Project

After taking heat for choosing Minneapolis (MN)-based Ryan Cos. to design and build their new $54 million ballpark without a competitive bidding process, the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association) issued request for proposals Friday for the project.  Read more here.

Wolff To Be Inducted Into Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame

PRESS RELEASE – American Association and Can-Am League commissioner Miles Wolff will be inducted into the province of Quebec’s Baseball Hall of Fame during the Baseball Quebec annual meetings in Quebec City on Saturday, November 3.

New Field on Tap for QuikTrip Park

QuikTrip Park, home of the indy pro Grande Prairie AirHogs (American Association), will be getting a field makeover.  During the off-season, the natural grass playing surface will be replaced with synthetic turf to reduce weather-related cancellations of baseball games and other events.  Read more here.

Under Pressure From Taxpayers Group, St. Paul Puts Ballpark Project Out for Bid

Facing a legal challenge by the Taxpayers League of Minnesota for awarding the design and build contract for the new Lowertown ballpark for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association) to Ryan Cos. without competition, St. Paul leaders Wednesday reversed course by deciding to put the project out for bid.  Read more here

State Reviews Hiring of Ballpark Contractor

The Minnesota Department of Management and Budget is reviewing language in state bonding documents to see if there is any problem with the City of St. Paul awarding the design and construction of the new ballpark for the indy pro St. Paul Saints (American Association) to the Ryan Cos. without going through a public bidding process.  City officials are calling this a “black and white” issue.  Read more here.

Brewing Company to Salute Goldeyes’ Championship Run

PRESS RELEASE – The Winnipeg Goldeyes and Fort Garry Brewing are giving fans a chance to toast the team’s 2012 American Association Championship with limited edition championship cans of Angry Fish Pilsner.

Veeck Talks with Media About New Saints Ballpark

St. Paul Saints (American Association) co-owner Mike Veeck took time out of his schedule to talk with KARE 11 news about the team’s new stadium on its way in Lowertown St. Paul.  He takes light-hearted pride in the fact that the Saints are still here today, after local sports columnist Sid Hartman said the team wouldn’t last 45 days back in 1992.   Watch news clip here.

St. Paul Saints Ballpark Scores Highest

No surprise here, but the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has scored the proposed new ballpark for the St. Paul Saints (American Association) in Lowertown St. Paul as the top project in the metro area worth of funding from a new $47.5 million capital projects fund created by the state legislature.  Expect this project to receive final approval for funding.  Read more here.

Amarillo Sox to be Featured on Food Network’s ‘Great Food Truck Race’

PRESS RELEASE – The Amarillo Sox and the Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium will be featured on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race on September 2.

Former Canaries Staffer Publishes Book About Working for Team

PRESS RELEASE – In conjunction with their 20th-anniversary season, the Sioux Falls Pheasants are excited to announce that former Canaries intern and assistant general manager Becky Moen will hold a book signing at the game on Saturday. Gates will open at 5:05 p.m. with the game slated to begin at 6:05 p.m.

FM RedHawks Welcome 3,000,000th Fan

PRESS RELEASE – The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks reached another milestone in the franchise’s storied history as Nikki Rude of West Fargo, ND was the Three-Millionth Fan in RedHawks history on Tuesday night at Newman Outdoor Field.