Melbourne Ballpark

[Deleted]

With the stadium due to re-open for club baseball next week and the Melbourne Aces to play their first game there in three weeks, the time seemed opportune to check the place out.....

www.baseballvictoria.com.au/default.asp?Page=89171

[mandi]

Great write up KC, it is also great to see some updated photo's of what is going on. I got to see the stadium on saturday and it really is looking fantastic and i am looking forward to seeing it once it is completed

[aueagle30]

Can this be seen as the ABL giving with one hand while taking with the other?

Is this a necessary cost for local baseball to support the ABL's existence?

The cost increase is minimal (only about $500 total across the entire season for all players), but it is only borne by the top 10-15 players at each club (an additonal $70 on top of fees)... could this start to become and disincentive to play mid-week games?

I want the ABL to succeed, but I am afraid what sacrifices might have to made to club baseball for that to happen... in the absence of any ABL, clubs worked really hard to fill the gap... what should we consider acceptable compromises to our expecations of club baseball?

Should we reduce the number of games to encourage our 'players' to become 'spectators'?

Should we reduce the number of teams clubs need to enter into competitions (should Div 1 only require 2 teams?) to reset the ideal that our 'players' are more important to the sport as 'spectators'?

Is the ABL currently providing enough to the growth of grassroots baseball (either directly through funding/player action/etc. or indirectly through increased profile) to justify these compromises and losses? If not, will they?

Attachments:

[stuartcapel]

Where does it say that any of the $7.00 fee will go to the ABL?

[Deleted]

My understanding is that it was the Committee of Management that set the increase. I believe it has nothing to do with the Aces or the ABL or Baseball Victoria. In fact the tone of the BV memorandum suggests that it is not at all happy.

While the COM would argue that there has been no increase for a long time, there will be people who will rightly say that it is a bit of a bloody cheek when Vic Gov and the ABL contributed most of the money for improvements that were long overdue for a tired facility.

I just hope that the same Committee of Management does not now seize upon any perceived opportunity to screw patrons by cranking charges for food and drink. If it does that, any positive build up to reopening of the stadium will largely dissipate.

[lorraine]

And the lucky scorers get to pay $7 each time they volunteer to help there team at this venue .

[aueagle30]

Lorraine, spot on... At what point will the cost of volunteering drive away scorers, coaches and parents?

SC, I never claimed the additional money was going to the ABL... and I better clearly acknowledge that without the ABL, I think I can safely assume Melbourne Ballpark wouldn't have been upgraded... therefore, a tangible benefit to grassroots baseball from the ABL.

Melbourne Ballpark COM raised entry only two seasons ago (from $5 - $6)... it had been $5 from at least 2003 prior to that... this is a 40% increase over three years... it's hard not to conclude that without the upgrades and ABL involvement, costs would have remained the same.

However, I will acknowledge issues outside baseball have significantly impacted the cost of electricity and this could be an equally likely reason for the entry increases.

I note a greater cost to the baseball community is the loss of comfort and access to something that has been an accepted standard for the past 10 years. It's a luxury we've been afforded, to have a warm room to prepare on cold Altona nights... to not have bags and equipment piled around the dugouts... to not have to have another issue to consider in managing our teams during the pre-game... a luxury that is now considered too great for our club baseball players.

While I'm sure some may disregard it as trivial, it is another thing we're being asked to compromise for the good of the ABL.

I'm trying to remain impartial on this and sincerely highlight that the introduction of the ABL seems to be coming at a cost to our grassroots clubs and members. These costs include not just being the target audience expected to purchase tickets, but sacrificing imports, sacrificing participation, sacrificing comforts.

From a club perspective, we worked really hard over the past 10 years, in the absence of a national league, to make our members feel like they were a part of something really important. As more things get taken away from them, it starts to undermine that ideal.

I'm sure we're all prepared to give up things for the success of the ABL, but I'm asking questions about what people think are acceptable sacrifices for the success of the ABL?

For example SC, if the only way the ABL could succeed was if we scrapped summer baseball at the grassroots level and relied on winter leages for grassroots development, is this acceptable? Yes hypothetical and extreme, but I'm interested to know what opinion others have toward this issue, and for some, this might be okay.

[Deleted]

Hey Nathan how does it work for your Masters boys that play nearly all of their games at MBP ? - I assume that it ends up being a $70 > $90+ additional cost burden to the Club Subs they are already paying GBC ?

At least this was our experience 2 years ago when we (and our friends and families) were forced to travel there (from Preston) 6 or so times in the season on a Monday Night to play Masters at MBP.

[aueagle30]

authentic, correct... Master's play all their games there... Div 1 team play all our mid-week games there (except one)... for anyone involved in these teams, it's an additional $70-$100 per player, plus the cost of travelling to and from Geelong.

Please don't get me wrong, I don't want to make this about Geelong specifically... we accept as a regional-based club, the cost of participating in the State League is higher than metropolitan players (although, I'm sure there is a limit to what our players will continue to accept as costs continue to rise).

I'm interested in understanding, as a whole, what we're prepared to continue to give up at a grassroots level to see the ABL succeed?

[4crownies]

I have never understood why spectators get charged.
If zero spectators show up, the game goes on regardless.
When was the last time anyone got a receipt for entering, or a ticket?
Do they give official attendance numbers to BVSL/ABL/ABF?
2 years ago i asked if i could pay $100 and have unlimited access to mid-week games, as i frequently attend on my way home from training. I could not get an answer

[stuartcapel]

Auseagle, to clarify, I think $7.00 entry to play/score/coach/bat boy a game at MBP is excessive. I'm surprised that they even charge potential spectators at most a gold coin donation to venture to the ground to spectate. The current cost turns people off attending games there, whereas a coin donation would go some way to encouraging people to go watch a game, and the more people watching matches, then surely the better. To me, like KC, I would suggest that the wording of BV's memorandum suggests a less than impressed attitude towards the late notification and it's contents.

Out of interest, do umpires have to pay $7.00 to umpire at the venue?

As for the reasoning behind cost increase, I'm not in a position to tell, but do we know about local rates or how much for example the cost of electricity has risen for the floodlights? Most people have experienced sharp hikes in their power bills recently. I'm not sure why MBP would be experiencing anything different.

[lorraine]

i believe the official umpires dont pay to enter the stadium but do get paid to umpire a game . I am sure i will be corrected if i have got this wrong .

[perfeckt]

25% home team - 75% away team. We shouldn't forget who the senior partner in our "pro league" is. Whilst there are definite and obvious benefits to our domestic league, we are an amateur sporting league where as the ABL are a professional league that have a financial imperative based on the international furtherment of the sport. Their muscle has helped Oz ball and it's profile but our profile was also being raised (internationally) over the last....10-15 years by the signed players that have been nurtured by and trained/coached within an amateur system. My point (if indeed I have one) is, that I don't believe that our amateur club system should financially contribute to an international corporations' success, one that can walk away if their accountants (after their 5yr. plan,15yr plan or whatever) decide that their economic modeling isn't paying dividends to the core business. Don't get me wrong, I think the ABL and the opportunity it provides is a great thing, I just don't think that a pro system should impact on grass roots, club ball and the costs involved for recreational involement. My posts' tie to this thread...? Can anyone tell me the percentages paid by the various "stakeholders", i.e., B.V., A.B.F., M.L.B.i, Australian and Victorian taxpayers, to upgrade Melbourne Ballpark?

[eckersley43]

Lorraine is correct. I don't think you will find umpires being charged admission to any sport at which they officiate in Australia or Worldwide.
P.S. Would have been embarrassing if the A.F.L. umpires required a paid up ticket to umpire the Grand Final.

[pirates]

What you will find is that vic baseball pay for the hirer of the facilities which covers the cost of ground hire and lighting. The entry fee has nothing to do with VB it would go towards the guys that run the canteen and the ground i believe. The same goes for la trobe who charge out side users other than Preston. We then run the night and provide the canteen but don't charge entry fee.
The cost of Altoona is high from what I have been told. Someone might be able to confirm the arrangements at Altoona. The other thing is the whole refurbishment almost did not go ahead because of the so called management committee, what a joke if the detail is correct. I think most would be surprised at who heads this committee as I was and now I know why the whole process took so long and almost fell over on a number of occasions, over petty issues until the government had to step in an actually point out that its a government and not privately owned facility. The Aces have copped a lot of flak over not making and confirming announcements leading up to the start of the season but unfortunately they could not because of this committee.

[oldmanriver]

Just for comparison. Each year for the last few years Cricket Victoria have been running a competition for the winners of the T20 competitions run by the various associations with the final being played at the MCG. Suprise, suprise, cost to players $00.00 to play on the hallowed turf. Perhaps those numbnuts at MBP can take a leaf out of the MCC and allow players to play for $00.00 AS THEY ARE BEING FORCED TO PLAY there mainly against their will
The easiest way to solve this problem is not to play there and allow the Aces exclusive access.

[bobby]

interesting to see that it is cheaper to go to the Aces launch game $5 than it is to play a club game at Altona $7

[bushman]

I know there is alot of bruhaha around with with costs of entry at MBP, which I must admit, I wouldn't be happy having to pay to go into play, especially if you had 10+ games there a season.

But just a thought from myself, Im keen as to check out the new digs when Im there and will be interesting to see how much different the ground plays.
Oh btw, once again KC, awesome job on the write-up big fella!

[Diesel]

when is the Aces launch game?

[dRoy]

Next Friday night at 7pm or 7:30pm

[perfeckt]

$5, $7! 2 cups of coffee.