Huntsville Stars (AA .Milwaukee Brewers) will be....

[Thick]

heading to Biloxi, MS for 2015 season

[bully99]

They'll be looking for another site in a few years. Go ask the Atlanta Braves how they're doing in Pearl.

[Political Hack]

Awe. Some.

As long as they can keep a team there it'll be fun. there's no good baseball close to that area so I suspect they'll get decent attendance. They also don't have to compete with a Mlb team or any major universities for attendance.

[Todd4State]

That has long been the rumor. The Biloxi Brewers. Makes sense since that's where Barq's was originally made I guess. The old team in Biloxi was called the Crabs.

[Todd4State]

They'll be looking for another site in a few years. Go ask the Atlanta Braves how they're doing in Pearl.

Debbie Downer? The Braves hate being in Pearl so bad they'll be celebrating their 10th year coming up. They also got rated as one of the top 5 stadiums in all of minor league baseball. If they are pissed about attendance, they need to start sending their players to do their rehab in Pearl rather than Gwinnett and not whore out season ticket packages that people only used on the Atlanta Braves exhibition game.

[bully99]

Not Debbie Downer, just realistic. Yes it's a beautiful stadium, that's what makes it so disappointing about attendance. The General manager does a great job of promoting Pearl Braves, but they have fallen way short of where they thought the team would be over the last ten years. Nobody thought the Mets/Generals would ever leave Smith-Wills stadium.

[bully99]

Let me add that I think the Atlanta Braves like the location, it's an easy flight/drive from Atlanta to Pearl.Maybe attendance will pick up with the new outlet mall now open.

[Johnson85]

Debbie Downer? The Braves hate being in Pearl so bad they'll be celebrating their 10th year coming up. They also got rated as one of the top 5 stadiums in all of minor league baseball. If they are pissed about attendance, they need to start sending their players to do their rehab in Pearl rather than Gwinnett and not whore out season ticket packages that people only used on the Atlanta Braves exhibition game.

Not to mention the fact that even if Pearl hadn't turned out ok, Biloxi is probably a better market for a team anyway. The Coast will provide just as much if not more corporate support and tourism should help it do better in other attendance.

[Todd4State]

Not Debbie Downer, just realistic. Yes it's a beautiful stadium, that's what makes it so disappointing about attendance. The General manager does a great job of promoting Pearl Braves, but they have fallen way short of where they thought the team would be over the last ten years. Nobody thought the Mets/Generals would ever leave Smith-Wills stadium.

There were rumors of the Generals leaving for years before they left. The problem was there wasn't a plan to build a stadium in Madison, Pearl, Clinton- wherever- not in the Jackson city limits. Tim Bennett originally wanted the M-Braves to be in Jackson, but the City Council told him no. Then he went to Pearl and Jimmy Foster- and now they have the Mississippi Braves and it has impacted Pearl tremendously.

Mississippi is probably always going to be a college baseball state. We're 6-8 hours from four MLB teams. You have all kinds of fans all over the state and even though the Cardinals and Braves are probably the majority- neither one totally dominates. The Governor's Cup outdrew the Atlanta Braves exhibition game. The college baseball games played at Trustmark help offset any attendance issues- and they don't count in their overall attendance figures.

The Atlanta Braves need to keep playing exhibition games every so often and they need to start sending their players to Pearl to rehab.

[Todd4State]

Not to mention the fact that even if Pearl hadn't turned out ok, Biloxi is probably a better market for a team anyway. The Coast will provide just as much if not more corporate support and tourism should help it do better in other attendance.

I think a team in Biloxi will become a rival for the M-Braves sort of like the Bandits and Sea Wolves in hockey. It's a little bit more interesting than Mississippi and Huntsville. That's good for the M-Braves and the Biloxi Beau Rivage's. It won't draw 8K- but it probably will draw maybe 1K than normal.

And the stadium will be across the street from Beau Rivage. It will give some of the patrons something to do in the evening besides gamble.

[Political Hack]

Not to mention the fact that even if Pearl hadn't turned out ok, Biloxi is probably a better market for a team anyway. The Coast will provide just as much if not more corporate support and tourism should help it do better in other attendance.

the casino ads alone will pay the bills.

[Bothrops]

I don't know of any AA baseball team/market that draws big crowds on a consistent basis. Pearl is probably about average.

[Todd4State]

I don't know of any AA baseball team/market that draws big crowds on a consistent basis. Pearl is probably about average.

The Southern League draws the worst of the three AA leagues. There are several factors with minor league teams. Birmingham and Jacksonville could be AAA teams. Pensacola is a new team that I think will level off after a few years. The M-Braves outdraw Mobile and Jackson, Tn., and Huntsville going off the top of my head. But they are still in the bottom half of the league in attendance. However, what the M-Braves do have that doesn't show up in attendance are the college games that they hold annually that draw well. Especially the Governor's Cup.

But it's also not always just about attendance with minor league teams. Someone mentioned the Braves like Jackson because it is a cheap flight. A team in Biloxi helps Mobile and Pensacola with travel costs since they all still bus around from town to town. Those are all factors as well.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

There were rumors of the Generals leaving for years before they left. The problem was there wasn't a plan to build a stadium in Madison, Pearl, Clinton- wherever- not in the Jackson city limits. Tim Bennett originally wanted the M-Braves to be in Jackson, but the City Council told him no. Then he went to Pearl and Jimmy Foster- and now they have the Mississippi Braves and it has impacted Pearl tremendously.

Mississippi is probably always going to be a college baseball state. We're 6-8 hours from four MLB teams. You have all kinds of fans all over the state and even though the Cardinals and Braves are probably the majority- neither one totally dominates. The Governor's Cup outdrew the Atlanta Braves exhibition game. The college baseball games played at Trustmark help offset any attendance issues- and they don't count in their overall attendance figures.

The Atlanta Braves need to keep playing exhibition games every so often and they need to start sending their players to Pearl to rehab.

Im sure we have more fans in autozone whenever we play up there than the redbirds draw on normal nights. The only times ive seen autozone packed was for a promotion night or playoff games.

[Political Hack]

the stadium in Biloxi will be used for plenty of events. I think the Conf USA tournament is locking in there. Also, I wouldn't be shocked to see LSU, Tulane, OM, USM, State, USA, and maybe some others play a neutral site game there.

If they were smart they'd get the MS Juco baseball playoffs there too. It won't draw a huge crowd, but it would bring a small tournament there when it would otherwise be empty.

[BoomBoom]

the stadium in Biloxi will be used for plenty of events. I think the Conf USA tournament is locking in there. Also, I wouldn't be shocked to see LSU, Tulane, OM, USM, State, USA, and maybe some others play a neutral site game there.

If they were smart they'd get the MS Juco baseball playoffs there too. It won't draw a huge crowd, but it would bring a small tournament there when it would otherwise be empty.

Concerts. The Beau theater is actually pretty small. And they may even partner with the Hard Rock for some big names that will fill out that stadium at $100 a pop. A couple million dollar nights will do wonders for your bottom line.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Concerts. The Beau theater is actually pretty small. And they may even partner with the Hard Rock for some big names that will fill out that stadium at $100 a pop. A couple million dollar nights will do wonders for your bottom line.

They'd be competing with the Coast Coliseum and Convention Center. Jones Park in Gulfport has a few big, good-drawing music festivals. Most bands will not draw more than will fit in the BR theater or the venue inside the Hard Rock.

It'll be awesome if the team is successful. One problem is that the coast is very spread out and people have a lot of choices of things to do. We've had arena football and hockey. Now we only have hockey, and it struggles to draw. I wish the stadium was being built in a place with a less obstructed view of the water. Pensacola has a fabulous view from the park. The political part of the team is that Biloxi is obligating 21 million dollars that are forecast to be paid back with a one dollar surcharge on seats. That's a lot of butts, even for 21 years, but it does have a chance to revitalize downtown and help our communities thrive. And 21 million is not as much as it sounds like, so I think Biloxi will be fine regardless. I'm also nervous because Huntsville is a tremendous community, and look what's happening to their team.

[starkvegasdawg]

If they are pissed about attendance, they need to start sending their players to do their rehab in Pearl rather than Gwinnett and not whore out season ticket packages that people only used on the Atlanta Braves exhibition game.

Amen. When Chipper rehabbed there you could not find a seat. I ordered tickets to a game 10 minutes after Don Sutton announced it on the Braves game and got seats right behind the 3rd base dugout.

[FlabLoser]

the casino ads alone will pay the bills.

Don't discount the income they could get if they hired MSU's video board people.

[Todd4State]

Im sure we have more fans in autozone whenever we play up there than the redbirds draw on normal nights. The only times ive seen autozone packed was for a promotion night or playoff games.

Minor League Baseball attendance is down across the country. The Redbirds have their ownership issues as well- that affects the product as well. Most MLB organizations don't care all that much in the grand scheme of things if their minor league teams are selling out every night. They care- but it's down the totem pole.

[Todd4State]

They'd be competing with the Coast Coliseum and Convention Center. Jones Park in Gulfport has a few big, good-drawing music festivals. Most bands will not draw more than will fit in the BR theater or the venue inside the Hard Rock.

It'll be awesome if the team is successful. One problem is that the coast is very spread out and people have a lot of choices of things to do. We've had arena football and hockey. Now we only have hockey, and it struggles to draw. I wish the stadium was being built in a place with a less obstructed view of the water. Pensacola has a fabulous view from the park. The political part of the team is that Biloxi is obligating 21 million dollars that are forecast to be paid back with a one dollar surcharge on seats. That's a lot of butts, even for 21 years, but it does have a chance to revitalize downtown and help our communities thrive. And 21 million is not as much as it sounds like, so I think Biloxi will be fine regardless. I'm also nervous because Huntsville is a tremendous community, and look what's happening to their team.

That's how minor league baseball is though. A team will come along and everyone will be excited for a little while and then gradually over the years the stadium becomes outdated and attendance declines and the team moves. And then a couple of years later a new team comes along- a lot of times with a brand new stadium, sometimes in a different league. That's what it sounds like is going to happen to Huntsville. They will lose their team, but I bet in a couple of years they'll have a new stadium and they'll probably get the team from Jackson, Tn. or Jacksonville if they move up to AAA. Based on what I've read, Huntsville already seems to be working on it.

The M-Braves used to be in Greenville, SC. Now Greenville has a team in the South Atlantic League with a new stadium. Part of the reason why we got their team was because the Southern League is gradually becoming more deep south and less Carolina based.