The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

16 February 2006

A nod to Oklahoma's seafaring heritage

Jeffrey Loria, who owns the Florida Marlins and who used to own the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers, is shopping for a new location for his franchise, and Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin reports that he's been thinking about coming back to Soonerland.

Says Fallin:

They are looking at several cities, but I think we are in the mix.... I thought, Why not Oklahoma City? We're filling the Ford Center for the Hornets and we ought to be able to convert that enthusiasm to welcome baseball, too.

Minor details:

  • We already had a facility worthy of the NBA. We don't have a ballpark suitable for MLB; the Brick is a wondrous place, as good as anything as you'll find in the minors, but it doesn't have anywhere near the capacity you'd want in a major-league park.

  • Is this town big enough to support two big-league teams? (And if you're thinking it is, what does this do to the argument that New Orleans, depleted as it is, can't handle both the NFL and the NBA?)

  • Jeff Loria almost makes George Shinn look saintly.

  • Does the phrase "too much too soon" mean anything anymore?

Fallin says she's going to be talking to the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and whatever interested parties happen by, in an effort to draw up a preliminary pitch.

(Obviously, if this does come off, the team will have to be renamed something a bit less, um, waterborne; suggestions are welcomed.)

Posted at 3:46 PM to Base Paths , City Scene


... I suppose OKC Tribe might be an automatic drop in the Native American mascot controversy. But it would definitely piss off Cleveland, so it might be worth it!

Considering the team's won two World Series in ten years, whoever lands it will be getting a charmed franchise. (In lots of ways -- ask a Tampa Bay longtimer about how the Marlins "should" have been St. Pete's team to begin with.)

Posted by: CT at 6:07 PM on 16 February 2006

How big is the Bricktown Ballpark? "One of the finest stadiums in minor league baseball" does not necessarily translate to having the capacity for a major-league team, but it also does not categorically proscribe it. If it holds more than 30,000 people, it should be big enough. (I believe that Dolphins stadium holds 34,000 for baseball; it has a capacity of about 75,000 for football games.)

Posted by: timekeeper at 9:42 AM on 17 February 2006

The capacity of the Brick is 13,066. If you add the parking garage next door, that would probably jump about 100 or so.

Posted by: Dwayne "the canoe guy" at 10:39 AM on 17 February 2006