Permanent Outdoor Hockey!

It was bound to happen eventually. Here is the article from Yahoo

If you're in the crowd of people who believe the idea of playing outdoor hockey games is overdone, you're not going to like what the Williamsport Outlaws of the Federal Hockey League have planned for the 2012-13 season. 

Having just relocated from New Jersey to Williamsport, the Outlaws are currently without a rink and needed somewhere to play their home schedule. While local officials are working out those details, the Outlaws announced on Tuesday that they plan to play their entire 30-game home schedule outside at Historic Bowman Field, home of the Williamsport CrossCutters, a New York-Penn minor league baseball team. 

From WNEP16: 

Williamsport's city council still has to approve the lease with the new hockey team that won the league championship last year in New Jersey. The Outlaws' coach says the team hopes to get about 2,000 fans per game. If you are wondering if there is a chance warm weather or rain and snow could postpone outdoor hockey games. The answer from officials is yes but they said they are prepared to deal with whatever comes late Fall, early Winter. 

From when their season kicks off on Oct. 24 until their final home game on Jan. 21 (Williamsport ends their season with a 15-game road trip), the Outlaws will rent the rink at Bowman Field, which is owned by the city. No word on what happens should the team qualify for the FHL playoffs to defend their title. Public skating will take place when the rink isn't in use by the team, according to WNEP. 

The rink will reportedly cost the Outlaws between $200,000-$225,000 to build and operate, $15,000 to rent the field from the city and between $12,000-$15,000 to fix the infield once the season is over. The team will need to average around 2,000 fans per game in order to make the venture economically feasible. The possibility also exists of renting the rink out to local high school and college teams to help off-set costs. 

Meanwhile, the Crosscutters aren't too happy having to share their facility with another team and have filed a Right to Know request to get all the details of the agreement between the Outlaws and the city.

I feel like it was going to happen eventually, but the fact that they relocated there without an arena is pretty stupid. I really hope it's cold enough, because this summer has been so hot.

NEWS

So I got back from my Tallahassee-Indiana-New York road trip!

I saw all the stadiums on the FSU campus, so this year expect a bunch of stadium report cards. We drove on through to Indiana to visit family. I wanted to go to a Indianapolis Indians game, but they weren't home when I was there. We flew to New York, where I saw the Mets play at Citi. That ballpark is GREAT. My favorite ballpark so far. We have a report card, so I haven't posted yet! On the 4th of July we went to Coney Island, and were outside the Brooklyn Cyclones stadium where I got a shirt, but didn't see inside.

It's right on the board walk, so it was cool watching the fireworks there.

I also saw MSG up close, and Yankee Stadium from the air! We didn't go by the new Brooklyn arena, and the Islanders play really far away. Also, no New Jersey even though the Giants/Jets/Red Bull play RIGHT there.

So sorry for the lack of posting, I just havent thought of what to do! I want to go to a Rowdies game before I leave for college, so I might. Also the Olympics are this weekend, so I'll post the stadiums soon. My dad and I also are trying to work out going to Raleigh when Florida State plays his NC State in October. I could hook you guys up

Stadium Report Card: Charlotte Sports Park

It's been far too long since we've had one of these.

Team: Charlotte StoneCrabs(Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training)
Location: Port Charlotte
League: Florida State League(Grapefruit League
Built: 1987(Renovated 2009)
Capacity: 7,000
My event: Spring Training Game, vs Boston Red Sox

1. Outdoor Design

I thought it was pretty bland. Along the stands, it just had an overhang with the cement look. But to be honest, it looked pretty good. I didn't know till just now that they renovated the park, and not rebuilt. Worth noting. 6/10

2. Indoor Design

The inside was pretty nice. It was simple in the stands, then a nice press box building behind the plate. The outfield had a deck running the entire length of the outfield, and there were berms in the left field corner. They had a party deck thing overlooking right field, too. 8/10

3. Prices
Pretty average, I thought. Spring training tickets were 22 dollars, but that was sitting in the actual stands. The food prices were cheaper than at the Trop, so that was nice. 7/10

4. Food
I had my favorite meal the Rays do, the chicken finger basket. They had kettle corn, pizza by the slice, tropical smoothies, and root beer floats. 8/10

5. Staff
I didn't have any problems with them! The guys behind the counter at concessions were helpful, and the lady who i bought my StoneCrabs cap from was nice 7/10

6. Cleanliness
Really clean! It was a new park, and they wanted it to look nice. 8/10

7. Parking
The only parking lot was packed when we got there. My sister, and I walked a mile down the road to get there. There was so much traffic, and only one exit to a main road. 4/10

8. Atmosphere
Sure, it was very Pro-RedSox, but what are you gonna do? They sold out the park, and it was a good atmosphere 8/10

9. Playing Surface

 

The field crew kept the infield really really nice. I did notice that the pattern from the infield didn't go to the outfield, and it didn't really even have a pattern. 7/10

10. Scoreboard

 

The scoreboard wasn't anything special. It was basically the same as the one in Dunedin. The only actual video board was one that showed player stats in right center. 4/10

67, which sounds about right. It surprised me to be honest. I didn't know what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. Sure it could be improved upon, but it was a great place to watch a game.

Stadium Report Cards: Bowling Green Ballpark

Team: Bowling Green Hot Rods
Location: Bowling Green, KY
League: Midwest League(Eastern)
Built: 2009
Capacity: 4,500
My event: Regular Season Game, vs South Bend Silver Hawks

1. Outdoor Design

A lot was happening, and i wasn't impressed. A lot was brick, and then there was metal. it looked thrown together, and not all that attractive. The overhead view might show what I'm talking about.
5/10

2. Indoor Design

It was pretty nice. Simple. It somewhat falls into a cookie cutter MiLB park, like Greensboro, and Clearwater. But the outfield was nice to look at. It had a wide range of things happening, and I thought right field being inverted was pretty cool.
7/10

3. Prices
To sit in the seats for a game is 10 dollars. The berm in the corner is just 5. The reserved seats seemed kind of much for a regular season minor league game. The drinks were cheap though, so not all bad.
6/10

4. Food
The menu was basic, but they had car puns! There was a bar called the garage on the 3rd base side, so there was some variety.
7/10

5. Staff
The staff was pretty cool. The ticket window man wasn't that amazing, but other than that they were pretty cool. They knew what they were answering when I asked them questions. Good job.
8/10

6. Cleanliness
A new ballpark, and it was very tidy!
8/10

7. Parking
There was a large lot behind right, where the grey building is in the first picture. That was paid parking, but we found some open spots a block away, and even behind the left field wall there was a large open area.
8/10

8. Atmosphere
For a Sunday game, it was bleak. I don't know what it was, it just wasn't impressive. Looking at pictures, the team sells out their games, which is great to see. But what I saw wasn't one of those games. There's nothing to do in Bowling Green, so you think some people would show.
6/10

9. Playing Surface

I thought it was good! Real good. Not sure if you can see through the screen, but I applaud the grounds crew.
9/10

10. Scoreboard

A large board, with a box score. That's all you need in a scoreboard. There was ads all over, and it was solid as a whole.
7/10

71. I think I might be jaded, but that seems about right for a minor league stadium.