by Patrick Bailey, Charleston Gazette
Think the 82-80 finish for the Coal Sox didn’t inspire action in the organization? Think again.
First, GM and owner Tyler Babcock opened his wallet for the offseason, upping the payroll by about $10 million to $94 million. He then put the money to work, acquiring superstars George Riley, Ralph Dean, and Rob Wright. The Coal Sox retooled their promotional schedule, drastically increasing the number and quality of promotions. Now, plans have been announced to give Allegheny Field a makeover for the 2008 season.
The centerpiece of the project is a manual scoreboard which will be installed in the left field wall, complemented by 5,000 new seats that will be installed down the left-field line in foul territory. The construction is scheduled to being on January 15 and is expected to be complete by opening day.
Allegheny Field, already an intimidating environment for the opposition, will get a little harder next season as 5,000 more rabid Sox fans will be able to squeeze into the ballpark. And despite the disappointing finish by the team last year, the organization is already planning on another season of sell-outs.
“You just can’t overestimate the devotion of these fans,” said Susan Todhunter, Coal Sox Director of Marketing. “Season ticket sales for 2008 have already matched ’07 levels, and we haven’t even started our big advertising campaign, which last year started in spring training but we’ll probably move up to early February this year.”
The Coal Sox have also announced plans this season to open up select areas of the ballpark early enough to allow fans to watch the Coal Sox take batting practice. This should also alleviate gate congestion before the start of games. Last season, showing up less than twenty minutes before game time meant missing most of the first inning. Long lines at all gates were a constant source of frustration for fans and a pleasant problem for Coal Sox ushers, who had to accommodate 35,000 fans almost every night. “We’re confidant the additional seats and earlier gate times should alleviate lots of problems for fans,” Todhunter added.
When asked for his thoughts about the stadium improvements, Babcock admitted he was most excited about the new scoreboard in left field. “I’ve always loved manual scoreboards,” Babcock gushed. “There was simply no time to install one last season, with the move from Miami via Wayne, and we didn’t even finalize the lease of the stadium from the city until the middle of spring training. But now that things have settled down we can start projects like this, and I think fans will really appreciate the class the new scoreboard will give the park.”
Some fans will doubtlessly enjoy some of the minor improvements schedule for the park more than the major upgrades. The entire ballpark is scheduled to receive a deep cleaning during the course of the expansion in an attempt to remove the years of grime that had accumulated during the years the park had sat vacant. “Again, this is something that ideally would have occurred prior to last season. We did what we could while the team was away on road series, but there’s just no replacement for a thorough washing.”
The vast majority of West Virginians have expressed nothing short of glee at the announcement.
“Finally, I can order a hot dog and be able to tell the difference between it and my promotional anthracite coal stick!” one fan exclaimed. He then frowned. “Why did I even keep that thing, anyway? What in the world was that promotion about?”
“I only went to one game last year, and when I left my socks were as gray as the players’ jerseys,” another fan added, “and I wore boots to the stadium.”
Still, the most die-hard of Coal Sox fans are disappointed by the news.
“I suppose everything is controlled by marketing nowadays,” a self-proclaimed West Virginia diehard sighed. “I went to about 30 games last year, and I left each one looking like a coal miner. You just can’t replace that experience.”
An admittedly bemusing promotional schedule will see a marked upgrade next year. The Coal Sox have already announced six bobblehead nights (manager Armando Zamora, LF Jon Wood, SP Rocky Reed, SP Hamilton Cole, 2B Tom Kirkland, and SS George Riley, a late addition). The fireworks nights schedule will be expanded from seven to seventeen night games, and the Sox hope to schedule a series of concerts over several summer homestands featuring local and regional bands. The centerpiece of the schedule, though, is an 81-piece baseball card set. One card in the set will be given away at every homestand. The complete checklist has yet to be announced, but the Coal Sox have stated it will feature every member of the parent club, notable minor league prospects, and several stars from other teams.
With a retooled ballpark and promotional schedule to complement a revamped ballclub, watching the Coal Sox in 2008 promises to be an experience unlike any other. And this year, a significantly reduced risk of black lung!
