New Britain Rock Cats Moving To Connecticut's Armpit

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Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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New Britain now hosts the New Britain Bees - an independent league team. Not to mention the City of New Britain, a blue collar place if ever there was one - hates the Yard Goats. I would imagine Philly like treatment of Santa towards mascots.
I know (I was born in New Britain and grew up in the area, my family's still around there, so I keep reasonably up to date).

If the Goats are sharing with another team, then it could be in NB as well as Norwich. The only thing I didn't realize was that the Tigers are NY-Penn and therefore short season, so they haven't started yet (for some reason I thought they were also EL).
 

Cuzittt

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If the Goats are sharing with another team, then it could be in NB as well as Norwich. The only thing I didn't realize was that the Tigers are NY-Penn and therefore short season, so they haven't started yet (for some reason I thought they were also EL).
In theory, sure. The reality is that the city of New Britain would rather demolish the stadium rather than having the Yard Goats stop by. That is a non-mover.

But, the issue with all the options (and I'll include Muzzy and Bridgeport) is two-fold :

1) Fitting the games in around games - functions already booked at the stadium.

Note all the doubleheaders being scheduled at Dodd. There's a reason for that.

2) Receiving League approval to play. Muzzy, which hasn't hosted professional ball in over 3 decades may not have acceptable facilities according to the league.
 

Traut

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I drove by it yesterday when I was downtown....I'd be surprised if they play in July. Oh, and at 5:00 there was no work going on.
Even if they don't stop work as a result of the bond being called in - there will not be any baseball in Hartford this year. This is an epic, epic, shitshow.
 

Haji

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May 6, 2016
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I'll bet there's a huge feeling of "serves them right" in New Britain city hall right now. The Rock Cats never should have left New Britain.

I've been to a few New Britain Bees games so far. The crowds have been small, but the baseball is good. If there really aren't any games in Hartford this year I hope former Rock Cats fans will give the Bees a chance.
 

8slim

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Hartford stealing a viable AA team 15 miles away, and then completely vomiting on a new stadium build, is pretty much the epitome of everything wrong with CT.

I imagine the Bees will struggle because I find Indie baseball to be a tough sell. The quality of Atlantic League play is decent but there's no hook of following prospects or developing players to the majors. I catch a few Bluefish games by me each season, but that franchise and stadium stinks.
 

Moosey

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Jul 20, 2005
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I get no enjoyment out of being able to say "I told you so" to the people I know that were saying this was going to be awesome. What an epic shitshow. CT does a great job of piling on reasons to leave it, which is also sad because I like it here. Can't wait for the day where I sell my house for basically zero gain after 20 years.
 

8slim

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I'm not sure why the city of Hartford screwing up a AA baseball stadium is reason to leave the state. But I get the underlying sentiment. CT's a great place to live, although our government tries it's best to ruin everything.
 

Pedros Midget

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Good question, the article doesn't really say. All it indicates is that the city now has a claim against the insurer of the developer/park to pay to complete the park. Then, I would imagine baseball next year. The way this has gone, who knows. I think I hear the people of New Britain laughing heartily somewhere in the distance...
 

Rico Guapo

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Apr 24, 2009
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So how much of a set back is that? Will there be baseball in Hartford next year?
The developer notified the city on Friday that the Stadium won't be ready for another 60 days or more, i.e. August 1st at the earliest, so the city called the surety which means work on the stadium halts.

Between the work stoppage, the 60 days or more needed to finish the stadium, and the schedule ending September 5th, I think there is very little chance we get baseball in Hartford in 2016.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-dunkin-donuts-stadium-announcement-0607-20160606-story.html
 

Plantiers Wart

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They will play all remaining games on the road - Heard the developers reached out to New Britain to see about using the old stadium - with predictable results.
 

bosoxsue

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They will play all remaining games on the road - Heard the developers reached out to New Britain to see about using the old stadium - with predictable results.
I love seeing your profile picture in the context of that comment.
 

8slim

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Not Mayor Stewart's most shining moment, or illustrative of her anatomy, but she told Bob Landino of Centerplan to "suck my dick" when he asked. And hung up the phone.
That's fannnntastic.

They should come down to Bridgeport. They could just cancel the rest of the Bluefish season to accommodate them. Not like it'd matter, the team stinks and they draw about 700 people a game.
 

Traut

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I
Not Mayor Stewart's most shining moment, or illustrative of her anatomy, but she told Bob Landino of Centerplan to "suck my dick" when he asked. And hung up the phone.
I saw recently saw Mayor Stewart at Firebox yamming it up with 8 Shipman and Goodwin lawyers. Laying groundwork for a run in 2018? Glad to see she has taken a page from the Dan Malloy playbook on being respectful to anyone she perceives may have slighted her in the past.

Hartford may never get this thing built.
 

steveluck7

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What recourse might the Rockies have in this with respect to their development agreement with the Yardgoats? I see that they extended their agreement through 2018 but with no home this year and an uncertain future, i wonder if they have any recourse to back out after this season
 

Cuzittt

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Colorado is stuck. They can't change affiliations. They will be with the Yard Goats wherever they wander.

Whether the ownership can break their quarter century lease with Hartford is a completely different can of pineapples.
 

Traut

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Bronin was right to call in the bond. But where is the money going to come from to fix this? It's not coming from the City. Nor the State. Just by driving by there, it seems any visible work stopped about 2 months ago.
 

TheYaz67

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What recourse might the Rockies have in this with respect to their development agreement with the Yardgoats? I see that they extended their agreement through 2018 but with no home this year and an uncertain future, i wonder if they have any recourse to back out after this season
Well, some interesting news on this front today:

After missing his entire first season at Hartford’s Dunkin’ Donuts Park, Yard Goats owner Josh Solomon desperately wants the city to get the stadium finished for baseball in 2017.

But just in case, Solomon has apparently let Hartford officials know that he has options -- and one of them is to take his team elsewhere.

According to an email from the city’s top lawyer, Solomon informed him Monday that Hartford’s inability to complete the more than $60 million Dunkin’ Donuts Park is a breach of their development agreement and that sets the clock ticking.

That development agreement says that the city has six months to fix the problem. If it can’t, Solomon has the right to terminate his contract with the city, pack up his team, and go.
http://wnpr.org/post/yard-goats-could-leave-hartford-if-stadium-isn-t-done-2017#stream/0
 

bg1025

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Oct 30, 2013
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Good. Let 'em leave. I live in the area, and nobody I know gives one crap about this team especially being affiliated with Colorado. I think it would be a huge boon if they gave up their rights to the area and Hartford could entice say the Pawsox to come here.
 

8slim

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Good. Let 'em leave. I live in the area, and nobody I know gives one crap about this team especially being affiliated with Colorado. I think it would be a huge boon if they gave up their rights to the area and Hartford could entice say the Pawsox to come here.
Why would the PawSox want anything to do with the cluster in Hartford?
 

Traut

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Good. Let 'em leave. I live in the area, and nobody I know gives one crap about this team especially being affiliated with Colorado. I think it would be a huge boon if they gave up their rights to the area and Hartford could entice say the Pawsox to come here.
They didn't build the stadium to AAA capacity. It is stupid upon stupid.
 

bg1025

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Oct 30, 2013
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They didn't build the stadium to AAA capacity. It is stupid upon stupid.
Wow, don't know how I missed that one. Oh well. As mentioned above, too bad they can't expand. This was a terrible decision all the way around by shady businessmen and politicians. If it ever does open, the only way I'd ever go is when the Sea Dogs are in town.
 

smallball

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There are obviously plenty of nice places in CT. Beautiful country. If you're spending your whole time riding back and forth on 84 and 91 you're missing them. Hartford, too, has some Victorian jewels: Elizabeth Park, Mark Twain House, Wallace Stevens walk. The meadows have been ripe for redevelopment for a long time. Anyone remember jai alai? Begrudging a struggling city a chance to pick itself up is kind of armpit of the mind.
 

Papo The Snow Tiger

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JimD

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Pretty infuriating to see the EL play the victim here, given that they allowed this ridiculous timeline to go forward in the first place.

Also, the good folks of Hartford may want to just quietly retire the whole 'DoNo' moniker now.
 

TheYaz67

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Now the city is a further $3M in the hole on the project - courts have just ruled that they stiffed a local property owner on the value of their land when they took it via eminent domain, and now have to pay up.

About the only disaster to not befall this ballpark so far is perhaps a meteor strike....
 

BJBossman

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Dec 6, 2016
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I scratch my head at the stories I've dealt with the postulate this as being a great thing because it will subsequently revive the downtown thanks to the crowds from the game heading there postgame. Maybe it's because my opinion is colored by going to minor league games with my children, but the only thing I've wanted to do after the game/fireworks/massive amounts of food consumption is get out of Dodge. I've had no desire to go clubbing, and the children with me would have been an obstacle if I did. I'd have to say that I was a fair representation of the demographics at the games I've attended, too.

And as for the armpit, have any of you been to Jewett City?
Drive through it all the time on my way to Newport.
 

BJBossman

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Dec 6, 2016
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I don't think this project, if it actually happens (a big if), will impact in any way eventually replacing the XL Center. The money for that is going to be driven by the State and it's going to be all about UCONN basketball. Proximity to the State Capitol Building will be a factor as well. These folks like convenience when it comes to attending games. It wasn't an accident that the legislature limited the capacity of the on-campus Pavilion, they wanted all the important games to still be played at the much larger XL Center and not out in the sticks in Storrs. Same thinking went into the football stadium process as well.
The state is the one keeping UConn playing a lot of games at XL. For the same reason they wanted this minor league park in Hartford.