Eck Stadium Rumor

[washedup]

Take this with a boulder of salt but it comes from a guy I know who works for the city. As we know, Wichita wants to build a new dowtown baseball stadium to replace Lawrence-Dumont. The main objective of course is to attract affiliated baseball. However, the prospects for any available teams moving aren't good right now. But the city with available star bonds, plans to proceed with it plans. One idea to further justify a stadium is to get WSU to play there. Now this is where it gets interesting. The guy tells me the university is interested because they would free up the land where Eck Stadium sits now for further expansion of the inovation campus and parking. He says some administrators feel it's become a white elephant of sorts and the site could be put to better use. Anyobe else hearing this?

[ShanShock]

That is a very interesting option!

[WstateU]

[SHOCKvalue]

Freaking blasphemy. I'd be off the Bardo Bandwagon in a heartbeat if that came to pass. Let the nincompoops at city hall who have screwed up (at a hilarious level) every public-private partnership that's ever happened here do this latest one on their own. Leave WSU out of it.

[Aargh]

This sounds like someone from the city floating a rumor hoping it makes the decision to build a new stadium seem like a little better idea.

I don't think the condition of L-D is what kept fans away from the affiliated minor league teams when they were in town.

[Kung Wu]

Convert LD to a soccer stadium!

[shoxlax]

Sounds like a conspiracy theorist that believes DB wants the last remaining physical reminder of Gene and his friends blown up.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

The prospects of Wichita getting a AA or AAA team are actually quite good, so I call BS on this rumor.

Besides, Eck is one of the best college parks in the country. There's no reason at this point to scrap it.

[Shocker85]

The prospects of Wichita getting a AA or AAA team are actually quite good, so I call BS on this rumor.

Besides, Eck is one of the best college parks in the country. There's no reason at this point to scrap it.

I agree about Eck. There is plenty of space on campus for growth now that the golf course has been cannibalized.

Regarding affiliated BB in Wichita, now is a bad time to try to woo AA or AAA team out of their existing situations. Most teams currently have committed local ownership and good relationships with their current host cities. The few that are marginal all seem to be making the effort to improve.

I'm all-in for a new stadium and I hope it happens and can be better integrated with the local entertainment options in the area. While L-D has a lot of nostalgia, its usefulness and fan-friendliness has expired. Getting a team lined-up as a new tenant is going to be a challenge.

[shocks02]

Jeff Longwell was on The Drive with Bob Lutz about a month ago and guaranteed that he'd have a minor-league team by the end of the year. If this doesn't end up being the case, I'm going to be very disappointed.

[washedup]

Jeff Longwell was on The Drive with Bob Lutz about a month ago and guaranteed that he'd have a minor-league team by the end of the year. If this doesn't end up being the case, I'm going to be very disappointed.

That was before the San Antonio franchise moved to Amarillo. Not a lot of options out there right now, Also see that the city is considering making a new stadium a baseball-soccer combo facility. Afraid this is turning into a cluster.

[SB Shock]

I don't see Eck stadium going away. It would be a mistake to move to a rented stadium.

[SHOCKvalue]

Gah... forgot about that stinky baseball-soccer combo idea, which seemed to generate itself out of thin air and suddenly became the plan. Another idea that hasn't really happened in other parts of the country in any relevant volume (for obvious, common-sense reasons), but here it will somehow be a cue to city leadership to move forward with such a unique opportunity.

[OregonShocker]

I have to believe Cessna stadium would be on the chopping blocks before Eck.

[WuShock16]

Yeah, I'm not buying this rumor at all...unless the university wants to refund all of the donors who are giving specifically to the Eck Stadium portion of this Shock The World Campaign.