Sapporo Fighters in 2004
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Re: Sapporo Fighters in 2004
[ Author: Guest: Gary Garland | Posted: Mar 21, 2002 4:53 PM
]
So there is now an actual agreement? The last I read, which was this afternoon PST, Sports Nippon indicated that talks were still ongoing. Moreover, Sapporo mayor Nobuo Katsura had apparently made overtures to both the Orix Blue Wave and the Yakult Swallows. And it appears that there is some resistance from the Lions over this and that the Lions are the number one choice among fans in Sappporo to move there.
The idea of the Fighters moving there (and I hope that they will take on the city's name) is a really good idea in my estimation. They'll have the market all to themselves. The question is, even with market exclusivity, will Nippon Ham market themselves effectively to that community? And they only have one star player, Michihiro Ogasawara, as a selling point.
After him there is only Yukio Tanaka, who, while undeniably a solid ballplayer, is hardly a real star.
So here's to hoping that Nippon Ham invests more money in scouting and player development between now and 2004
so as to give their new fans some exciting players to latch on to.
The idea of the Fighters moving there (and I hope that they will take on the city's name) is a really good idea in my estimation. They'll have the market all to themselves. The question is, even with market exclusivity, will Nippon Ham market themselves effectively to that community? And they only have one star player, Michihiro Ogasawara, as a selling point.
After him there is only Yukio Tanaka, who, while undeniably a solid ballplayer, is hardly a real star.
So here's to hoping that Nippon Ham invests more money in scouting and player development between now and 2004
so as to give their new fans some exciting players to latch on to.
Agreement with Sapporo
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Mar 21, 2002 6:52 PM
| YBS Fan
]
- So there is now an actual agreement? The last I read, which was this afternoon PST, Sports Nippon indicated that talks were still ongoing.
Good point. Nothing is finalized yet. In fact, a 3/4th majority vote by an executive commitee and I believe the owners is necessary by October of the year before a move. That would be October of 2003, so there isn't much of a rush.
Hey, I guess this helps answer a question I'd gotten before about teams using threats of moving their franchise to force cities to build new stadiums. It'll take a collaborative effort by 3/4ths of the teams to hold a city hostage.
- And it appears that there is some resistance from the Lions over this and that the Lions are the number one choice among fans in Sappporo to move there.
There have been 120,000 signatures on a petition to have Seibu establish a "jyun-franchise" (semi-franchise?) at Sapporo. This inititive has been going on since May of 1998, collecting signatures throughout Hokkaido. The biggest problem I see with Seibu's deal with Sapporo is that they want guarantees for attendance before committing to playing more games up north.
Nippon Ham, on the other hand, appears to be more sincere in their desire to move, unconditionally. (Well, I'm sure they have their conditions, but...) The move would help out the Fighters a lot more than the Lions.
Good point. Nothing is finalized yet. In fact, a 3/4th majority vote by an executive commitee and I believe the owners is necessary by October of the year before a move. That would be October of 2003, so there isn't much of a rush.
Hey, I guess this helps answer a question I'd gotten before about teams using threats of moving their franchise to force cities to build new stadiums. It'll take a collaborative effort by 3/4ths of the teams to hold a city hostage.
- And it appears that there is some resistance from the Lions over this and that the Lions are the number one choice among fans in Sappporo to move there.
There have been 120,000 signatures on a petition to have Seibu establish a "jyun-franchise" (semi-franchise?) at Sapporo. This inititive has been going on since May of 1998, collecting signatures throughout Hokkaido. The biggest problem I see with Seibu's deal with Sapporo is that they want guarantees for attendance before committing to playing more games up north.
Nippon Ham, on the other hand, appears to be more sincere in their desire to move, unconditionally. (Well, I'm sure they have their conditions, but...) The move would help out the Fighters a lot more than the Lions.
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Work on Sapporo Dome started in 1998 and was completed in June of 2001. There were 15 games played there last season with a total attendance of 480,000, averaging 32,000 per game. Of course, the three Giants' games were sell outs (53,000) while Seibu vs. Lotte averaged 23,000 for a three game series. Sapporo managed to attract a J-League (soccer) team to their dome last year and have averaged 37,000 fans per match, showing that Sapporo can support a professional team that calls Hokkaido home.
And that's one of the major things it comes down to. There are six professional baseball teams in the Tokyo area. This is clearly more than the market can support. Furthermore, the Fighters share Tokyo Dome with the Giants, making it rather difficult to really call it home. (When you say "Tokyo Dome is the home of ...." that's more often than not concluded "Giants.") This can only work out to the advantage of both the Fighters and Sapporo city, who want more use out of their 537-oku yen dome.
There is also talk from ball club president Oshima of changing the team name to better relate to the rural fans. Things that won't change include Nippon Ham retaining at least 51% of stock in the club and will still run club affairs, as well as 2-gun remaining in Kamagaya (Chiba).
The last ball club to make a "big" move (i.e. not across town to a new stadium) was Lotte moving from Kawasaki to Chiba. It seems to me that they've done well with their move, even though it's farther away from central Tokyo.