All-Star game puts spotlight on OKC

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jun 17, 2002 by Max Nichols

For the last five years, we have all bragged often about the SBC Bricktown Ballpark as a big-league baseball stadium without the "big." At 7:05 p.m. on July 10, the nation's baseball fans will see what we have been talking about.

That's when the 2002 Triple-A All-Star game will begin with the Pacific Coast League All-Stars playing the International League All- Stars. It will be telecast on ESPN2, but that's just part of the impact this event will have on the growing image of Oklahoma City.

"All of the Triple-A executives and some from the class AA and A leagues will gather here for two days," said Oklahoma RedHawks President and General Manager Tim O'Toole. "We will show off the city, giving them a tour of the Metropolitan Area Projects and all the major attractions. We have plenty to show them, and we will add a tribute to the nation's military with a display on the ballpark plaza."

Beyond that, there will be the economic impact of about 300 official visitors booking hotel rooms for two nights and another 100 booking rooms for three nights, said O'Toole.

While we are all proud of what we have accomplished here since voting a one-cent sales tax for MAPS in 1993, it's important to understand that the word is just now spreading to travelers across the nation. They know about the Oklahoma City National Memorial at the site of the bombing of the Murrah building, but they are surprised to see our remarkable new attractions.

Over the last three years, I have personally given tours for visitors from as far away as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Jacksonville, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Minneapolis and Phoenix. In every case, they have wanted to visit the memorial, but they have been startled to find out how much more there is to see and do here.

The revitalized Civic Center Music Hall, with its tremendous acoustics, has them making comparisons with great theaters in New York. They love the Bricktown Canal, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art with its spectacular Chihuly sculpture, the Myriad Gardens, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Omniplex, Cox Convention Center and the Ford Center. They also find it amazing that more things are coming soon, including the new library.

The $32 million Bricktown ballpark fits that list, of course, especially for baseball fans. They comprise the target audience for the Triple-A All-Star Game. One major reason is that the RedHawks and the ballpark are on the cutting edge of a remarkable growing industry.

While the major leagues certainly dominate baseball with national television, players with multimillion-dollar salaries and attendance that exceeds 2 million a year in some cities, O'Toole says other cities are finding that Triple-A baseball is a good investment.

"There is a waiting list of four or five cities that want to acquire Triple-A clubs," he said. "New stadiums have been built in Memphis (for more than $80 million), Indianapolis, New Orleans and Sacramento. Portland has revitalized its stadium for $50 million.

"In addition, a new stadium is under construction in Albuquerque, where the current Calgary club will move next year. All of the cities with new stadiums want to show them off with the All-Star Game."

So it's not surprising that the Triple-A All-Star Game was hosted by New Orleans two years ago and attracted 15,868 fans last year in Indianapolis. The game will be staged at the new stadium in Memphis next year, and in Sacramento and Portland in future years.

O'Toole has attended four All-Star games since taking over leadership of the RedHawks in January 1998. Each host city has taken advantage of the opportunity to display their assets, including the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier in Norfolk, the George Eastman Co. in Rochester and the Indianapolis 500 Speedway.

"ESPN2 has televised the game for several years," he said, "and that has given the game itself a higher status. That's because the All-Star Game has become a televised showcase for future major- league stars. Adam Dunn of Indianapolis is a prime example of potential stars expected to play at the Bricktown Ballpark."

The RedHawks have a few of their own, he said, regardless of whether they are chosen for the Pacific Coast League All-Star team. He pointed out that Hank Blalock and Kevin Mench have joined the RedHawks after starting the season with the Texas Rangers and that Travis Hafner, Jason Hart and Ryan Ludwick are young players "just learning" to hit at the Triple-A level.

The two days of festivities will begin for fans on July 9 with the gates open at 12:30 p.m. for fans to see the Pacific Coast League and International League players in batting and infield practice. The Mark Harmon Celebrity Baseball Game will follow at 3 p.m., and an Old Navy Home Run Derby is scheduled at 5 p.m. All-Star players will sign autographs in the ballpark concourse from 3-4 p.m.

While the All-Star Game will be the featured event of the season, the RedHawks are doing well at the gate for their regular games. Though they won only about half their games through the first third of this season, their attendance was up about 5,000 from last year, when they drew 447,077 -- fifth in the league. They averaged nearly 6,000 a game -- fourth in the league -- through the first third.