Brandon Sparks from OlySports.com recently posed questions to Mike Greene, the founder of the developing Mount Rainier Professional Baseball League in the Pacific Northwest, about his plans for making the new circuit a success. Read more here. Read initial story here.
Rather than fire away here as we have done with other similar start-ups (sometimes launched by baseball-only guys who don’t understand the business), let’s take a look at one of the targeted markets — Moses Lake (WA). The defunct “summer collegiate” Moses Lake Pirates (West Coast League) folded after averaging a reported 669 fans per game in 2010. Read about the Pirates here.
Unless you are talking about a rinky-dink, amateur “operation” here, 500 fans per game is not going to cut it, let alone 200 per game, without charity or subsidy. The only existing league that compares to this start-up circuit is the Pecos League, and Greene takes a shot at them. While Greene may have great passion and good intentions, we have to wonder what he will be “able” to do differently from the Pecos, based on the markets chosen and the low-attendance model adopted?
Please, don’t get us started on the branding!
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