A Grip on Sports: Avista Stadium has to be upgraded as MLB mandates changes it will never help fund
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Major League Baseball is really good at coming up with ways to spend other people’s money. Whether it is players – the owners have locked them out as the two parties try to write a new operating agreement – or taxpayers in America’s smaller towns, the billionaires who run baseball love to put their hands in our pockets.
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• Over the years, conditions in minor league baseball have been pretty awful for those who aspire to play in the big leagues someday. Baseball has an unorganized workforce it can exploit and for decades it has – even as those at the pinnacle of the game take home millions.
That carrot just won’t cut it anymore, not when the government and the media have decided to shine a light on aspiring players, some younger than 18 and in a foreign country, being paid so poorly they subsist on fast food and sleep on couches.
Wait, that’s not what MLB wants to fix. Oh, no, that would come out of the owners’ wallets. Instead, that group – collective worth: the GDP of France – decided to cut down the number of minor league cities. Less expense, don’t you know? And the ones who made the cut a year or so ago? They have to improve conditions.
No, not salaries and such. To be fair, that’s been improved a little. But baseball has focused on the playing conditions. Better fields. Better lights. Better clubhouses. Modern. Balanced. Sparkly. A great way to distract the players (and umpires) from how poorly they are treated.
The local minor league franchise, the Spokane Indians, have been an exception to the norm. The field has always been top-notch. Avista Stadium, though old and lacking in some modern amenities rarely observed by the average fan, is still a better place to play than most minor league facilities at the Indians’ level.
And the off-field stuff? Spokane’s management group has gone above and beyond to ensure players a better-than-average experience.
But baseball owners are hard taskmasters. Just ask any player who played the game before Curt Flood sacrificed his career on the altar of freedom.
The Indians have to put millions into Avista. Which means, in reality, so will we. If we want to keep minor league baseball, and the summer entertainment it provides, in Spokane.
Colin Tiernan has a story in today’s newspaper examining what’s needed. And how Spokane County, which owns the park, is contemplating paying for it. The bottom line? The county’s voter will be asked to tax themselves in some way to meet the billionaire boys club’s requirements.
Is it fair? Heck no. But it is reality. The owners have the hammer and they will nail the bill right on our back.
How that happens has yet to be determined. The County may just let the Avista improvements stand alone on a bond issue. Sixty percent approval would be needed. The Indians and the County also have to decide the extent of any bond. Is it just for the needed improvements? Should money be added for improvements aimed at spectators, those folks who will be asked to foot the bill? Should other needs, like parks or trails or youth facilities, be added, raising the price and adding another burden to already burdened taxpayers?
No matter what the decision, we know what we will do. We will hold our nose – tightly – and vote yes. We believe minor league baseball has added much to Spokane’s quality of life over the years. And we want it to stay that way.
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Gonzaga: The Academy Award nominees were announced this morning and, no, Chet Holmgren wasn’t among them. It’s about the only awards that have excluded him this year. Theo Lawson tells us Holmgren swept the West Coast Conference weekly awards again. … Theo also has a story on the polls and another on this Saturday’s game vs. No. 22 Saint Mary’s being carried on ESPN2. … The women played last night in the Kennel (we were otherwise engaged and couldn’t make it) and though it was tougher than expected, they were able to get past San Francisco 55-49. Jim Allen has the story. …Dan Pelle also supplies a photo gallery. … Around the WCC, the NCAA Tournament won’t include Brigham Young if the Cougars don’t turn their season around.
WSU: The two games still outstanding due to COVID-19 pauses have been rescheduled. The Cougars will host Washington on Feb. 23 and play at Oregon State on Feb. 28. Colton Clark has more in this story. … Mouhamed Gueye earned another conference freshman-of-the-week award. Colton has the story. … WSU hosted a track meet in The Podium and records were set. That news leads off our local briefs column. … The recent Cougar surge has gained some notice. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, the Arizona schools played last night and, once again, Arizona proved to be too big, too fast and too good for Arizona State. … The schedule may allow Colorado the chance to have success. … USC is playing Pacific tonight. … On the women’s side, it was a good week for the Arizona schools. … In football news, in the Mercury News, Jon Wilner looks at the transfer portal winners (including WSU) and losers. He also examines the conference’s reaction to a recent transfer. … Colorado is headed into another year of offseason weight work. … Former Washington State player Jordan Simone is not happy about being fired as ASU’s radio analyst. Or for being right. … Who will be Oregon’s next quarterback?
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana bounced back against Southern Utah. … Montana State had no trouble at Idaho State. … Northern Colorado finished up a season sweep of Northern Arizona.
Preps: Monday isn’t a usual night for high school basketball, but with Spirit Week and virus-related postponements, it was one this week. Over at the Arena, the Rubber Chicken kicked it off (Nina Culver has the spirit competition covered), with the Ferris girls and boys winning over Lewis and Clark. Dave Nichols has the basketball covered while Colin Mulvany’s photo gallery features the action from on and off the court. The award for best costume goes to LC girls coach Gabe Medrano, who wore a Johnny Depp-caliber Pirate outfit. … Dave also has a roundup of other action.
Seahawks: Is it time for Seattle to say goodbye to Bobby Wagner? Matt Calkins says so. … The Bengals’ success should give every franchise hope.
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• Figure skater Nathan Chen was marvelous last night in his short program. He set a world record. It was the type of performance that leads to gold medals and Wheaties boxes. And, oh yes, happy birthday Kent. Until later …