Owners Want New Parks To Improve Their Finances

Baseball owners, unable to get economic concessions from their players, want 11 new ballparks and said some teams may move if cities don’t help with funding.

“There are some teams that will not survive in this economic environment without new stadiums,” acting commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday. “You can’t sugarcoat it.”

American League president Gene Budig said he expected to have commitments within 18 months for six new stadiums. The ballparks would be built for Boston, California, Detroit, Milwaukee, Seattle and even Minnesota, where the Metrodome was built in 1982.

National League president Leonard Coleman was less definitive, but said his league wants new stadiums in the near-term for Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. Ballparks for Philadelphia and New York are on his long-term list.

“If your stadium economics are difficult, your overall economics are difficult,” said Selig, the controlling owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. “It’s one Mandrake the Magician can’t solve for you. You can’t create more people. A new stadium can be your only hope.”

Budig said he expects all the new ballparks in his league to be funded by public-private partnerships. The announcements, made at the owners’ quarterly meetings, may lead some teams to threaten moving unless government funds are made available for stadiums.

“I believe the general public realizes the importance of baseball to these communities,” Budig said. “To lose a major league franchise would send an unfortunate message to business and industry that are interested in relocating.”