Graham's Word: Reno City Council Needs To Think Very Carefully About Losing The Aces
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Sat, 12/01/2012 - 9:59pm
Event Date:
December 1, 2012 (All day) The City of Reno seems to be dropping the ball when it comes to adhering to their side of the agreement with the owners of the Reno Aces.
In a letter dated November 28th 2012 written to the Mayor of Reno Robert Cashell from the President of Triple-A Baseball Branch E. Rickey, President Rickey tells a damning story of what Reno has failed to do to. This letter has given permission to the owners of the Aces to relocate if the City of Reno fails to come to an agreement on a refinancing deal for Aces Ballpark.
Rickey explains in the letter that in the beginning, Reno showed extreme interest and support in bringing a professional baseball team to the city. Then the letter slowly takes a dramatic turn for the worse. It says that SK Baseball (name of the group who owns the Aces) was asked by the City of Reno to lend them $6 million dollars to relocate a fire station which was on the proposed site of the stadium. SK Baseball agreed to loan the money and move forward with the project.
President Rickey then goes on to explain that SK Baseball has shown “exaggerated patience throughout the process” by not receiving virtually any of the revenues from Reno that were agreed upon in the initial lease. President Rickey also states that the repayment agreement for the 6 million dollar loan has not been honored. Yet, SK Baseball has continued to try and work with the city to keep the Aces in Reno.
This has prompted SK Baseball to go to the next level by asking Triple-A Baseball for permission to relocate if the City of Reno will not agree to the deal of refinancing the stadium.
President Rickey goes on to write in a disappointing attitude and what some can consider as a little anger as well. He states his disappointment in the City Council’s change of heart on the refinancing agreement. The Council voted it down in a 6-1 vote. The lone vote that was for the agreement was cast by Mayor Cashell. The proposed agreement at first was favored by the City Council before the general election which saw four new members come on to the Council. That was also made apparent in the letter as a cause for concern by President Rickey that the new Reno legislation does not fully support having a team in Reno.
He stated that he was disappointed in the sudden change of attitude by the City Council. The agreement calls for the City of Reno to pay $1 million a year for 30 years to help pay for the 50 million dollar stadium. In return, the Aces promised to stay in Reno for the 30 years. President Rickey continued to say in the letter that although permission to relocate has not been “officially sought” by SK Baseball, they (Triple-A Baseball) also understand that SK Baseball has virtually no other alternative if the agreement is not made.
The $1 million that Reno is being asked to pay is going to be taken out of the general fund for Reno, and that was the main reason for the Council’s change to not agree with the deal. I can see their concerns. The general fund is used to pay fire and police along with other numerous city functions. With the way the economy has been, it is understandable why the Council is showing caution in the agreement but they really need to think about how much money and jobs would be lost if the Aces were to leave.
Another reason might be the continuing decline every year in the attendance to the ballpark. Since the Aces have come to Reno, the numbers have fallen every season (2009: 466,606; 2010: 447,701; 2011: 432,314; 2012: 389,860). That to me is disappointing. In the overall scheme of things, the Aces have been a successful franchise for the city, including last year when the Aces claimed their first AAA Championship. It has brought a lot of things to do for the locals and tourists alike.
What Reno has to understand is that is why the team moved from Tucson to Reno in the first place. The lack of attendance obviously brings in less money for the team to deal with and eventually a team has no other choice but to move to a market that will bring in money. The citizens of Reno and the surrounding communities need to come out and support the team if it is truly wanted here in Northern Nevada. It is troubling to think that the citizens do not seem to support a winning, high-level, professional baseball franchise.
All in all, I hope the Reno City Council finds a way to keep the team in Reno and do what is best for the city in the long term. I think paying $1 million a year is a small amount to pay when you compare it to the amount of money that would be lost if the team was to indeed pack up and leave. In 2013, the possible last year for professional baseball in Reno, the Aces will be defending their AAA title and the AAA All-Star Game will also be in town.
There is a lot of incentive for fans to come out and break the attendance record. It’s time for Reno to show that the Aces are wanted. I will be one of those to support the Aces by going to as many games as possible.
