Public ownership necessary for a secure franchise

Published: August 17, 2010

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The International League recently provided some badly needed clarity to discussions over the future of Triple-A baseball in Northeast Pennsylvania. Commissioner Randy Mobley's comments indicate that future is not threatened by the condition of PNC Field.

It's a crucial point that the Lackawanna County commissioners should take to heart. But, it is an issue that has broader appeal than just Lackawanna County. All of Northeastern Pennsylvania, including Bradford County, is the potential audience for the AAA Yankees.

Ever since former Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro concocted a deal in 2006 to give away the county's publicly owned International League franchise, that has been the urgent threat to the future of the region's Triple-A baseball team.

The deal is with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees LLC, a consortium of the New York Yankees and Mandalay Baseball Properties. It gives SWB Yankees, which also was hired as the private manager of the franchise and the stadium, an option to buy the franchise at a fire-sale price - $13 million by Oct. 1 or $14.6 million thereafter.

'Guarantees' no sure thing

Public ownership is the only way to ensure that the franchise remains in Northeast Pennsylvania. The so-called "guarantees" that would keep the franchise here under private ownership by the Yankees are largely unenforceable. If SWB Yankees decided to move the team, for example, it first would have to offer to resell it to the county stadium authority - at market rates. Not only would the county likely not be able to afford such a re-acquisition, but any sale would have to be approved by the IL and Major League Baseball - third parties who are not legally bound to the agreement between the county and SWB Yankees.

At a recent public meeting, Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O'Brien contended that the International League could pull the county's franchise absent massive repairs to PNC Field or construction of a new stadium. He apparently got that impression from an earlier controversy in which the IL cited its power to pull the franchise while demanding that the county install a safe, playable field at the stadium.

But Mr. Mobley, the IL commissioner, stated flatly to Charles Schillinger of The Times-Tribune that the failure to construct an entire new stadium or effect massive repairs would not be grounds for the league to remove the franchise.

The stadium clearly needs some work. But massive repairs - in the $40 million range mentioned by Mr. O'Brien and, later, by Gov. Ed Rendell - would become a defining issue only if the team is sold. SWB Yankees already has agitated for a new or massively renovated stadium, and as owner of the franchise could use its relocation as leverage to force that public spending.

The county's own history in the league is illustrative. When it joined the IL in 1989, its new stadium generally was considered one of the two best in the league, along with that in Buffalo. Many of the other stadiums were crumbling relics of an earlier baseball era, and the IL did not move to disenfranchise any of those cities.

Timing could have been better

Unfortunately, the local stadium was constructed at the tail-end of the multi-purpose stadium era. Since then, new baseball-only stadium designs have enhanced owners' revenues and fans' game experiences. The other cities followed the local lead with new stadiums, so PNC Field is one of the oldest stadiums in the league.

But the public has invested heavily in it, recently installing the new field and a state-of-the-art home clubhouse, for example.

That the stadium does not threaten the franchise's removal should guide the local commissioners going forward. The security of the franchise begins with retaining public ownership. Mr. O'Brien and Commissioner Mike Washo should examine proposals that have been made to accomplish that. It would be a fine thing, for the baseball business and fans, to upgrade or replace the stadium, but the IL clearly is willing to provide time for that. The urgency lies with retaining the franchise.

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