The franchise entry fee for each UBL ownership group is $5M
and co-founder Bob Mrazek estimates start-up costs at $20M per
team (THE DAILY).
NEW ORLEANS: New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial held his own
press conference following the UBL's tele-conference announcing
the city's intent to assemble a local ownership group with strong
minority involvement. Morial said the UBL franchise will give
the city an economic boost during the "slack" tourism months of
June through August (George Sweeney, New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE,
2/15).
WASHINGTON, DC: Mrazek said the league has received a
commitment from Jim Dalrymple, Exec Dir of the DC Sports
Commission, that UBL will immediately conclude lease negotiations
for the use of RFK on a multi-year basis with a "long-term" and
"exclusive" lease -- if Northern VA is not awarded an MLB
franchise by April 2, 1995. Former U.S. Rep. Tom McMillen is the
designated leader of the DC franchise group (THE DAILY). In
Washington, Mark Maske notes that the area's best chance of
getting a professional baseball team "rests" with the UBL
(WASHINGTON POST, 2/15).
VANCOUVER: The UBL franchise would play in B.C. Place, a
domed facility with a seating capacity of 55,818 for baseball and
the potential for up to 110 luxury suites. Warren Buckley,
President/CEO of the British Columbia Pavilion Corp., operators
of B.C. Place: "The news of the UBL coming to Vancouver has
received very positive reaction. City and provincial leaders are
excited to host a big league baseball team" (UBL). According to
Mrazek, Buckley has requested time to build a local ownership
group, but the league is committed to providing help from its
national investors. However, Buckley is quoted in this morning's
papers saying it was not his job to find a local ownership group:
"I've told the UBL my job is not to convince (owners) on their
behalf but to get them the audience and let them do the
convincing" (Terry Bell, Vancouver PROVINCE, 2/15). Mrazek said
the UBL received a commitment for an exclusive lease with B.C.
Place, in light of the Mariners' plans to play 8-10 games a year
there (THE DAILY). Brent Imlach, GM of the AAA Vancouver
Canadians, said the Japanese company that owns his club will not
be involved (TORONTO SUN, 2/15). SAN JUAN: San Juan Mayor
Hector Luis Acevedo: "Baseball is deeply rooted in the culture of
our island and we look forward to being first in the Latin
American baseball market." The franchise will be housed at the
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, which hosted the Caribbean World Series
(UBL).
GREATER NEW YORK: Mrazek said the league has three
different options for this area: Long Island, Brooklyn and
Northern NJ, with prospective ownership interested in each
locale. Mrazek: "The issue in New York ... is complicated by the
fact that there is no adequate stadium." Any new stadium would
have to have a minimum 25,000-seat capacity. The league has
retained Dallas-based HKS, designers of The Ballpark at
Arlington, to develop a prototype facility for the UBL. For '96,
the league would need a temporary facility in New York, and plans
are under way to develop facilities similar to those for Atlanta
'96 (THE DAILY). Murray Chass notes Mrazek "didn't say, but the
likelihood is that ultimately one team will play in New Jersey
and another in Brooklyn or Long Island" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/15).
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles or the Riverside-San
Bernardino area are the two prospective sites, and UBL claims to
have at least two prospective investor groups. As for
Riverside/San Bernardino, there is no adequate stadium but Mrazek
said there is a "definitive interest" to see a stadium built.
Moss added that in discussions with the L.A. Coliseum Commission,
they said the stadium would be re-configured to become a "true
baseball facility" -- not like the way it was when the Dodgers
used the venue in '58 (THE DAILY). In Riverside, Maureen Delany
notes the 3,500-seat Riverside Sports Center exists in a
residential neighborhood and could not be expanded easily.
Meanwhile, Pat Lynch, GM of the Coliseum and L.A. Sports Arena,
said he has spoken with UBL reps but is waiting for more
information (Riverside PRESS ENTERPRISE, 2/15).
