By Jim Henry
Globe Sports Editor
—
Right now it’s all speculation, simply in the exploratory stage.
But the American Association, a league of independent minor league baseball teams, wants to expand from 13 to 16 teams, and a league representative came to Joplin on Wednesday to tour the city and visit the baseball sites.
Chris Cotton, director of the Joplin Parks and Recreation Department, met for about two hours with Charlie Meyer, president of the Lincoln Saltdogs and director of league expansion.
“I can tell you the American Association is looking at Joplin,” Cotton said Thursday afternoon. “They are extremely interested in Joe Becker Stadium; however, they are not interested in Joe Becker Stadium if we can’t modernize it.
“We’re talking a major facelift and overhaul. The minimum requirement is we have to be able to seat 3,000 people, and the league has to approve the stadium. I don’t have a dollar figure. I know at this point of time they are interested in Joplin, but we have to figure out how to get the stadium renovated to get them here.”
Cotton had talked with league representatives early last year.
“I had talked to them a little bit before the tornado,” Cotton said. “The commissioner of the league, Miles Wolff, actually flew out here to visit with us, but then we had the tornado and we got sidetracked. We have been in touch off and on the last several months.
“Charlie happened to be in the area for business with the Kansas City T-Bones, and he came down basically for me to show him around town, show him the stadiums and just talk baseball.”
“I had reached out to Chris in late December to see how things were going and see if this was something they were still wanting to consider,’’ Meyer said. “That’s what precipitated my trip, to explore and give them some details about the league.”
“I had a great visit with Chris, saw the various sites in the community. I also saw the war zone area, which is absolutely incredible. TV doesn’t do it justice. You guys have been through a lot there.
“It was a good meeting, a good exchange. From the American Association standpoint, Joplin would be a location that would fit the map of our league. Obviously there is a lot of work to be done to work through the whole process.”
The American Association schedule runs from mid May through early September. The league had 14 teams in 2010, but financial difficulties forced Fort Worth to drop out this year. The league goes as far north as Winnipeg, Canada, and as far south as Laredo, Texas.
“The Kansas City T-Bones are the only team in Missouri, and they have the Wichita Wingnuts,” Cotton said. “So if a Joplin club were to come on the map, that would be some pretty good local rivalries.”
Meyer said the league’s expansion talks have also included the Houston area and other markets in Texas and Louisiana. There’s also the chance that Fort Worth could return to the league.
“When we look at expansion, it would be anything for 2013 or beyond,” Meyer said. “With the situation in Joplin, timing-wise, to have something ready by next May probably isn’t real realistic. It all depends on how fast things could come together. ... Your situation there would be refurbishing an older stadium. It’s a matter of finding funding and an ownership group to want to step into that market.”
“There’s no timeline,” Cotton said. “But I want to be clear this is all speculative. We’re investigating the possibilities, but I don’t have a budget, I don’t have a timeline. We’re simply talking.”
American Association
The 13 teams scheduled to play in the American Association this summer:
Stadium
Team Capacity
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 4,513
St. Paul Saints 6,069
Sioux Falls Pheasants 4,500
Winnipeg Goldeyes 7,481
Gary SouthShore RailCats 6,139
Kansas City T-Bones 6,537
Lincoln Saltdogs 8,000
Sioux City Explorers 3,631
Wichita Wingnuts 6,400
Amarillo Sox 8,500
El Paso Diablos 9,725
Grand Prairie AirHogs 5,445
Laredo Lemurs 6,000
