UWM BASEBALL

[uwmguru]

siusaluki said:

Wow that bad huh? I thought they'd play a few games at miller park since it's a dome for the cold weather.

The team plays two (and only two) games at Miller Park each year as part of the marketing agreement that the University has with the Brewers. The big uwm.edu sign in right field is part of that as well.

This year the games are May 15 against Youngstown State.

[nighthawk]

I would love to consider getting season tickets to UWM baseball. I love the game, and I love UWM. Better value than the Brewers, and more family friendly.

However, I will not risk my safety, nor my children's, to watch a baseball game.

If they go forward with the Rank and Son plan, they will lose me as a potential buyer for a very long time.

If they played at Miller Park, I would jump at the chance to get season tickets, provided the price was right. I would love to tailgate before games (weather permitting), and enjoy baseball in a world class facility.

If they built on the State Fair grounds, I would still consider going. Same with the Valley.

I hope the powers that be recognize the danger of building a facility there.

There is no reason to relocate soccer. Leave it alone. Baseball is not a sport that takes place during the school year (mostly), so campus proximity is not an absolute requirement. Neither is it for Track and Field.

Build the facilities where your customers (the paying ones) will go. Simple marketing.

Have we asked what it would take to make Miller Park home of the Panthers? Did we highlight the local marketing angle for Antansio? Does he understand the value of being the "hometown good guy", who is all about Milwaukee?

Wear and tear on the field can be addressed. We aren't discussing rugby. It's baseball.

If the field cannot handle 16 additional home games (based on this year's schedule), it's too fragile to begin with. Even if there were 25 extra games, that isn't too much to ask.

Especially since the season is over by mid May. The heat of summer will not have set in, and the grass will be in the growth phase of it's annual cycle.

Miller Park! Miller Park! Miller Park!

[bball30]

Wow.

It's not a war zone, I've been to a decent amount of games and never feared for the safety of myself or my loved ones. I think you are being a bit over dramatic on this one.

Plus, I believe the games are already free.

[nighthawk]

I'm sure you're right. I'll just take the Mustang on down there and leave it unlocked, it's so safe.

Hell, maybe I'll move there. I'm so glad we are going to spend all that money to build new facilities in New Faluja!

After a quick Google, I found this:

(all stats since 1/7/2008)

District Five
Motor Vehicle Theft 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (18)
Motor Vehicle Theft 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (29)
Motor Vehicle Theft 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (12)
Motor Vehicle Theft 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (32)
Motor Vehicle Theft Total : 91

Sexual Asslts 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (0)
Sexual Asslts 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (0)
Sexual Asslts 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (2)
Sexual Asslts 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (1)
Sexual Asslts Total : 3

Robbery 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (13)
Robbery 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (8)
Robbery 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (11)
Robbery 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (15)
Robbery Total : 47

Shootings 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (1)
Shootings 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (1)
Shootings 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (4)
Shootings 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (0)
Shootings Total : 6

Aggravated Asslt 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (8)
Aggravated Asslt 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (6)
Aggravated Asslt 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (6)
Aggravated Asslt 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (5)
Aggravated Asslt Total : 25

Theft 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (53)
Theft 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (48)
Theft 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (42)
Theft 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (29)
Theft Total : 172

Shots Fired 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (6)
Shots Fired 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (3)
Shots Fired 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (4)
Shots Fired 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (2)
Shots Fired Total : 15

Burglary 1/7/2008 through 1/13/2008 (27)
Burglary 1/14/2008 through 1/20/2008 (13)
Burglary 1/21/2008 through 1/27/2008 (14)
Burglary 1/28/2008 through 2/3/2008 (10)
Burglary Total : 64

2008 Year-to-Date Homicide (1)

www.ci.mil.wi.us/display/router.asp?docid=15300

[bball30]

nighthawk said:

Hell, maybe I'll move there. I'm so glad we are going to spend all that money to build new facilities in New Faluja!

Well I never said anything about moving there or leaving your mustang unlocked, but whatever works for you.

And what an insult to the brave men and women who have served over in Iraq. I'm sure they'll appreciate your comparison.

Also, should something be done in that area, I would imagine it will only be under the condition of improved security as well as both city and campus police protection.

[nighthawk]

bball30 said:

nighthawk said:

Hell, maybe I'll move there. I'm so glad we are going to spend all that money to build new facilities in New Faluja!

Well I never said anything about moving there or leaving your mustang unlocked, but whatever works for you.

And what an insult to the brave men and women who have served over in Iraq. I'm sure they'll appreciate your comparison.

Also, should something be done in that area, I would imagine it will only be under the condition of improved security as well as both city and campus police protection.

You're 100% right. Since the surge (which I supported, and still do now), Faluja is actually SAFER than district 5 is. I misspoke. My apologies.

Do you really think that we should spend $2 MILLION just for the land in this area to build sports facilities designed to attract spectators? Is that good planning?

Let's spend a ton of money on a consumer attraction in a place no one will ever want to come!

Call me crazy, but that's just not a good idea from any perspective.

Does the land belongs to an alum who really wants to unload it, and is looking for a favor? Why isn't this being discussed prior to making the commitments? Why all the secrecy?

Because you need to keep a bad idea secret so you can do it first! Good ideas are public knowledge almost from the outset, to create buzz and support.

[nighthawk]

And I also understated the price for this land.

$3,900,000

[mwu]

the crime data you posted hawk while it isn't good, it does include our own campus, where many thefts have occurred. so i don't think you can base judgment on the fact that there have been x numbers of crime alone.

if you haven't been up there, the area is practically in glendale, it is relatively safe i can tell you that much. i know you're joking about keeping your mustang unlocked and all, but the only place i leave my car unlocked is in my driveway.

i also went to rufus king, located 6 blocks from our current baseball facilities. in my 4 years of high school i never once had a problem in that area of the city. i played sports in high school, baseball (home field is HA field) and soccer practiced off campus, golf we practiced in Lincoln park. the cross country and track kids ran everywhere around there without a problem.

i'm not saying that nothing will EVER happen there because this is a major city and crime does happen. it happens in downtown, up by campus, out in tosa, and yes even in stallis. and i haven't heard of the U having any problems during games at HA field.

so i guess i really don't have a problem with the location, long story short.

[nighthawk]

I'm glad yo hear you had such a good experience.

Anecdotal evidence aside, I looked not just a the shockingly bad raw numbers, but the locations of the incidents on the maps as well.

Many were located withing blocks of the proposed location.

And if you think that suburbanite alums are going to venture down to this area to watch a soccer game or a baseball game, you are just plain wrong.

There's a good reason Rank and Son is gone, and the land for sale. People were no longer willing to patronize the long standing location of a very well known dealership, promoted for years by Bob Uecker.

While West Allis is no crime free jewel, the State Fair grounds are not considered a risk to travel to, or patronize, either. The Valley is relatively crime free, owing to it's lack of residential areas.

There are far better options, and this irrational need to make everything "near campus" needs to be ended. UWM is an enclosed campus in a residential area.

Short of buying up multiple city blocks, there is no realistic way to expand in that area without going into depressed and/or high crime areas.

UWM recognized this with the new Engineering campus in Tosa. Why doesn't athletcis as well?

Put a complex opposite Miller Part on Canal St, and make use of that general area. Play baseball in Miller Park, and build a soccerr field/track in the Valley that is expandible to house football at some point in the future.

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX (AND THE EAST SIDE).

[mwu]

baseball in mp is fine i think, but a valley complex i don't really see as a possibility. that area is zoned for light/clean industry with more construction slated for later this summer.

the only other site opportunities i see would be out near our proposed research campus, tucked along the lake's edge around the alumni house, or down in the 5th ward.

soccer practices fields elsewhere is ok but games MUST be played at englemann. the best home-field advantage in college soccer must not be changed.

[fan]

I don't think more baseball in Miller Park is even a remote possibility. I'd like to hold my fantasy baseball draft there as well, but I'm not going to hold my breath or waste it by saying that UWM should play more games there. Until someone has spoken with the grounds crew or higher ups at MP and find out its a possibility, I think we are dreaming. The AD, Asst AD and others have told me previously that MP isn't budging on this issue.

The Rank and Son spot might scare me as a little as a fan if it was something I had to walk to, but what are they going to do to you at a baseball game? Typically your cars aren't that far from you and given the nature of baseball stadiums being fenced in, I don't see why they couldn't fence in the parking lot as well. Nearly half the games are at 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

I think that close to campus does have value, but the Rank and Son location is not close enough to campus to have this benefit.

Valley or anywhere else is fine too. I think the quality of the facility is more important than the location. (MLB is different in this aspect and I still cry at night thinking how great MP would be if it was closer to downtown)

[uwmguru]

A couple of quick points...

1. The baseball games are 100% FREE. The only cost is if you buy a program or media guide. That is also the case when they play at Miller Park as well.

2. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than the baseball team playing all its games at Miller Park. Playing there costs lots of money. Considering that the baseball games are currently free and they draw 300 spectators on a good day, the revenue potential is not there at this point.

3. The Brewers charge bukoo-bucks for teams to come in and play at Miller Park. I do not have the exact number but know they charge the state high school teams that come in there a ton to play. From a business standpoint, why would they treat UWM any different just because we are the only NCAA D-I program in the state??

4. I have been to a ton of games at the Hank over the past few years and have never heard or seen anything crime-related or bad happen and have never felt "unsafe" at any time. About the most dangerous situation I saw was a high speed chase with about 15 cop cars that went back and forth down the road behind center field one day... However, that was more humorous than anything.

[DunneDeal]

Safe...or Unsafe...

Well let me tell you, I grew up in Milwaukee my whole life, and the first 10 years I grew up on 35th and Silver Spring...not too far from Aaron Field. That area, is right on the edge of crime, you go 4 blocks north your in Glendale, now go 4 blocks south and your right in the thick of it all....and what is that way...Rank and Son's Dealership...Next to a BK, across from a gas station that I wont ever stop at..even if my tank was empty. We dont want anything UWM related there, if you want people to show up.

I played and lived in this city for a long time, and the Valley, or Tosa, West Allis would all be a fine place to go and build something new.

Also..why not Lake Park?

[nighthawk]

Thanks for the input. I was beginning to think I was crazy for being the only one that thought that location was far less than ideal.

Also, perhaps the Baseball team could sell tickets, if they played in Miller Park. Given that the stadium is an attraction in and of itself, that may work. It would also help defray the costs.

Just a thought.

[bball30]

I don't think baseball selling tickets would work. I can't see how a team, regardless of where they play, who draws 300 (generous) would be able to sell tickets without driving off the small fan base.

Unfortunately, college baseball isn't very popular to begin with.