Freedom Field - Yea or Nay?

[cooperstown]

When I started this thread, the only thing that bothered me about the Freedom was the all-turf field. There is nothing else about the place I don't like. After seeing the 2011 financial reports, I must say are some things that surprise me. I understand the 9th coaches obviously agreed to the deal, but I also think that the park does have some responsibility to make the deal as financially beneficial to the teams as reasonably possible. The park was indeed built with public funds. And that fans are, after all, coming to see the teams, not the park. So let's look at some numbers:

 

Freedom charged $16,700 to play 7 games last year. That's a cost of $2300 per 2-hour game. That's seems steep to me. Do they deserve to make some money? Heck yes, but let's also remember they are doing pretty well on concessions at these games, or one would assume given the cost of some of their items. I also find it interesting that Freedom allows teams to play there for free during the regular season, as long as there are enough fans to make concessions sale worthwhile, but then charges $2300 per game during the tournament when there's most definitely enough fans to support the concessions.

 

Compare this to another minor league park, Whitaker Bank, being used in Region 11. Their charge for using the facility was $10,523, or roughly $1500 per game. $800 per game is a pretty substantial difference. It also resulted in Region 11 teams each receiving $500 more in payouts than Region 9 teams, who made roughly $300 per team last year. Region 4 used WKU's field at a cost of under $3000. This resulted in those teams receiving $1200 per team. Regions 6 & 7 both used U of L last year (14 games total) at a cost of $4666, or roughly $333 per game. The teams from those two districts each earned $1100 per team. When you add it all up, when the Freedom generated by far and away the most gate revenue ($21K) of any region, the 9th teams probably deserve to make more. I am surprised that 9th teams don't insist on this. There has to be something more to it. Would love if bulldog or someone could provide some insight.

 

Now, that all being said, there are some severe limitations IMO on using high school fields. First off, there truly aren't that many quality choices here in NKY. St. Henry and Dixie for sure. Everyone else has some limitations with regard to sufficient and quality seating. Even though games at high school fields would not draw as big crowds as games at Freedom, they would still draw well. 9th region fans support their teams very well. As long as an equitable arrangement can be worked out so that the host site is not the only team that makes money, it makes sense to me. It appears that different regions handle this differently. In the 10, 13, and 15th regions, the host site keeps all of the profit after expenses. I don't care for this at all. Other regions allow the host site to keep a certain percentage (15-20%) of the profit and dispense the remainder to the individual teams. Some regions pay all the teams equally (such as the 9th does), while others pay higher percentages to the champion, runnerup, and semifinalists.

 

Ultimately, as Clyde said, I guess the 9th coaches are all good with this, but from an outsider's perspective, it sure looks like Freedom is making a killing and there should be more to share with the 9th teams.

[Theoldguy]

When I started this thread, the only thing that bothered me about the Freedom was the all-turf field. There is nothing else about the place I don't like. After seeing the 2011 financial reports, I must say are some things that surprise me. I understand the 9th coaches obviously agreed to the deal, but I also think that the park does have some responsibility to make the deal as financially beneficial to the teams as reasonably possible. The park was indeed built with public funds. And that fans are, after all, coming to see the teams, not the park. So let's look at some numbers:

 

Freedom charged $16,700 to play 7 games last year. That's a cost of $2300 per 2-hour game. That's seems steep to me. Do they deserve to make some money? Heck yes, but let's also remember they are doing pretty well on concessions at these games, or one would assume given the cost of some of their items. I also find it interesting that Freedom allows teams to play there for free during the regular season, as long as there are enough fans to make concessions sale worthwhile, but then charges $2300 per game during the tournament when there's most definitely enough fans to support the concessions.

 

Compare this to another minor league park, Whitaker Bank, being used in Region 11. Their charge for using the facility was $10,523, or roughly $1500 per game. $800 per game is a pretty substantial difference. It also resulted in Region 11 teams each receiving $500 more in payouts than Region 9 teams, who made roughly $300 per team last year. Region 4 used WKU's field at a cost of under $3000. This resulted in those teams receiving $1200 per team. Regions 6 & 7 both used U of L last year (14 games total) at a cost of $4666, or roughly $333 per game. The teams from those two districts each earned $1100 per team. When you add it all up, when the Freedom generated by far and away the most gate revenue ($21K) of any region, the 9th teams probably deserve to make more. I am surprised that 9th teams don't insist on this. There has to be something more to it. Would love if bulldog or someone could provide some insight.

 

Now, that all being said, there are some severe limitations IMO on using high school fields. First off, there truly aren't that many quality choices here in NKY. St. Henry and Dixie for sure. Everyone else has some limitations with regard to sufficient and quality seating. Even though games at high school fields would not draw as big crowds as games at Freedom, they would still draw well. 9th region fans support their teams very well. As long as an equitable arrangement can be worked out so that the host site is not the only team that makes money, it makes sense to me. It appears that different regions handle this differently. In the 10, 13, and 15th regions, the host site keeps all of the profit after expenses. I don't care for this at all. Other regions allow the host site to keep a certain percentage (15-20%) of the profit and dispense the remainder to the individual teams. Some regions pay all the teams equally (such as the 9th does), while others pay higher percentages to the champion, runnerup, and semifinalists.

 

Ultimately, as Clyde said, I guess the 9th coaches are all good with this, but from an outsider's perspective, it sure looks like Freedom is making a killing and there should be more to share with the 9th teams.

 

Outstanding post and I believe a must read for each ninth region Principal, AD and Baseball Coach!

[Coachg13207]

I can guarantee you not all coaches vote for it. They get enough votes for it to pass.