Blowfish Release New Ballpark Renderings

As a follow up to today’s news that the summer collegiate Columbia Blowfish (Coastal Plain League) are relocating to Lexington County (SC), below are renderings of the new ballpark and the press release:

Navigators Strategically Target Youth Baseball

The summer collegiate North Shore Navigators (Futures League) have partnered with the five Lynn (MA)-based Little League programs to promote youth interest in baseball and increase attendance at Fraser Field.  Read more here.  This is more than just your run-of-the-mill Field of Dreams program for youth teams.

Two Seasons In, a Look at the ‘Summer Collegiate’ Brockton Rox

Brockton Enterprise staff writer Morgan True takes a look at the Brockton Rox’s attendance and financials two seasons after jumping from the indy pro Can-Am League to the summer collegiate Futures Collegiate Baseball League.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

Grizzlies Host Inaugural Summer Ball Conference

As we reported in September, the inaugural Summer Ball Conference will be held in Gastonia, North Carolina on November 8-10.  The Gastonia Grizzlies from the Coastal Plain League was the franchise selected to host this first-ever Winter Meetings-style event for the summer collegiate baseball industry.  Indeed the Grizzlies are a worthy host.  Their BBiz Summer Collegiate Top 50 attendance ranking jumped from #34 (1,172 per game) in 2008 to #16 (1,637 per game) in 2009. Read more here.

Introducing – Summer Ball Conference 2009

The inaugural Summer Ball Conference will take place on November 8-10, 2009 in Gastonia, NC.  It is being billed as summer collegiate baseball’s version of the Winter Meetings.  Keynote speakers include Steve Delay, executive vice president & chief marketing officer for Mandalay Baseball Properties, Vern Stenman, general manager for the Madison Mallards, and Mike Veeck, president of the Goldklang Group.  Click here for more details.