ACL's sights set on Aiken
By CAM HUFFMAN
Sports Editor
Professional baseball could be back in Aiken less than a year from now, and those behind bringing America's pastime back to the area promise it won't be more of the same.
Since the day the South Coast League announced it was closing its doors for the 2008 season, the big question around town has been whether professional baseball would return to Roberto Hernandez Stadium in 2009 as the SCL brass promised. Almost exactly two months after the league's suspension announcement on March 29, it appears as though hardball in Aiken could indeed be a possibility. It may not be the SCL, however, that brings the sounds of cracking
Please see ACL, page 10A
wooden bats back to "The Bert."
The Atlantic Coast League, which first came onto the independent baseball scene in 1995 with teams in Spartanburg, Gastonia, Greenwood and Florence, is looking to get back into the game in 2009, and the league's President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Harden admits Aiken is on his radar as a possible location for one of the ACL's first teams.
"I have been familiar with Aiken since the South Coast League announced that they were coming," said Harden in a phone interview Sunday. "When I found out that the South Coast League was shutting down, I was reading some of the forums on OurSportsCentral.com, and the Atlantic Coast League was being mentioned by some of those fans. That kind of provoked some interest to get involved with discussions with some of those cities.
"I didn't know what to tell (Foxhound fans) because Aiken doesn't have a city municipal stadium and the Foxhounds had been playing at the college. I wasn't getting good responses from college facilities. I had tried Mount Saint Mary's, Clemson, Lander, USC Upstate and Wofford, and they had turned me down. But when I finally contacted (USC Aiken) coach (Kenny) Thomas, he told me that he doesn't think the college has too many hard feelings about what happened with the South Coast League. So I am going to try to set up some kind of meeting to discuss the possibility with USC Aiken."
Harden, who said he plans on competing with either six or eight teams during the first season, admitted that the attraction to the Aiken area was an obvious one.
"Aiken would be one of the best locations for us," said the self-proclaimed sports nut. "At the end of 2007, Aiken actually led the SCL in attendance based on stadium size. With basically 1,000 permanent seats, they averaged 1,005 (fans per game). They basically sold out all of their permanent seating. That says a lot about Aiken. They really supported that club. That says more about the community than in Macon where they have a 4,000-seat stadium and averaged 1,700 per game."
While the South Coast League has yet to make any official announcement about a possible return in 2009, Harden does not believe he will have to compete with "The Bert's" former residents to get a contract with USCA.
"I have no idea what their status is right now," said Harden about the now infamous SCL. "According to their website, they have no front office staff. They have lost all of their leases, so it doesn't look like they can come back. Nobody is going to want them back in those cities because there are too many hard feelings. When you get yourself in such a financial hole, it is hard to dig out of it."
What he may have to do, however, is overcome the damage that the SCL left in its wake. Vendors, advertisers and even fans were left with a bad taste in their mouths when the league shut down, and Harden knows it will take a lot of persuading to convince those individuals that a successful independent baseball league in the Southeast is a possibility.
"There is no doubt there are bad tastes in people's mouths," Harden said. "When you get burned, you are going to have hard feelings, and more importantly you are going to be cautious in future investments.
"We are going to go into businesses and let them know that we are not the South Coast League. Second, we will try to guarantee a significant return for their investment. We have a lot of selling to do, and the No. 1 stop is the University of South Carolina Aiken to basically beg for the use of their field. All I can say to anybody in Aiken is to give us a chance and let us prove to them what we can do. If (USCA officials) give us the go-ahead, we are clear for takeoff and the sky is the limit."
The ACL is looking at the other three remaining SCL teams, as well - Macon, Anderson and South Georgia - believing those cities have proven they can support a professional baseball club. Other cities in consideration include Columbus, Ga., (the South Atlantic League Columbus Catfish will be moving to Bowling Green, Ky., after this year), Jackson, Miss., Americus, Ga., Fort Mill (the Charlotte Knights will be moving to North Charlotte in 2009) and Sumter. Harden would like to eventually include the entire Atlantic Coast region with teams in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and West Virginia. For now, though, he is looking for a handful of teams to make his dream into a reality, and he is convinced that Aiken is the perfect place to start.
"They just have to keep up the fan support," Harden said. "If we can get the turnout that the South Coast League had, then Aiken has a solid future with professional baseball, even if it comes to getting their own stadium built."
<Caption>The sounds of cracking bats and peanut shells could be back at Roberto Hernandez Stadium next summer.</Caption>
Notice about comments:
AikenStandard.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. AikenStandard.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not AikenStandard.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.
Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Comments
0