MURFREESBORO, TN - Following up on a story you previously heard on WGNS Radio, the City of Murfreesboro is still looking at the idea of a minor league baseball team coming to the area.
Earlier this month, Murfreesboro Councilman Shawn Wright told us the city is at the very beginning stages of looking into the idea... The team would be an unaffiliated Double A team.
As for the location of a ballpark, Wright said... According to a September release by the city, “Organizers of just such a franchise agree and believe downtown, with its fast-changing landscape of new restaurants and small businesses, is an ideal location for a team in the expanding independent league of American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB), an independent league and a partner league with Major League Baseball (MLB).”
During a past Murfreesboro City Council Workshop, Jason Rose, Principal of Rose+Allyn Public & Online Relations based in Scottsdale, Arizona talked about building a future stadium that would standout from other minor league stadiums across the U.S...
The area of Cannonsburgh Village was eyed as prime real estate for a minor league baseball stadium... He went on to say developers would work closely with the city and those who aim to preserve Cannonsburgh, to enhance the historical site. Rose further believes the number of guests at Cannonsburgh could go from 10 to 14-thousand annually to as many as 250-thousand guests each year.
Rose said one of the possible investors in a baseball park for Murfreesboro, could be a name that many sports fans are already familiar with...
In addition to approximately 50-home games annually, the site would also serve the purpose of hosting a variety of services and festivals.
The AAPB was founded in 2005 and operates in the U.S. and Canada. Teams are predominately in cities that are not home to Major League Baseball teams or minor league teams associated with MLB teams. The league is a tax exempt 501 (c)(6) organization.
They have a total of 12-teams and have undergone some unstable changes in their 18-year history. Of course, minor league ball has proven to see changes and movement year-after-year.
Murfreesboro said in a previous release, "Developers and City planners say it will take two to three years to develop and construct a new ballpark in Murfreesboro no matter where a minor league stadium is located and built." Organizers would aim to attract 2,500 to 3,500 fans a night to watch home each home game.
