Bangor should build stadium for Blue Ox

Having umpired professional baseball for 11 years gives me a unique perspective on the value of the Bangor Blue Ox franchise to the greater Bangor area.

During these first two seasons, I have attended several games and was tremendously impressed by the management’s professionalism and their uncanny ability to transform every game into exciting family entertainment. Unlike most parks that I have visited, I haven’t been able to find any major problems with the product that the Blue Ox provide. It’s so much fun that sometimes people even forget that a game was played.

The Blue Ox have been dealt the same hand as Jordan Kobritz when making his landmark decision to bring the Charleston Charlies baseball franchise to Maine as the Maine Guides. Portland did not want to build a stadium and a Triple-A franchise could not survive in Old Orchard just 20 minutes from Portland. For some unknown reason, city dwellers here don’t want to travel 15 minutes to view baseball.

It is also difficult to convince Mainers to accept a pro team as their own until the stadium is filled with fans. With a highly visible Bangor location, the stadium lights may be the best advertisement. The Portland Sea Dogs’ success should indicate that Bangor can do it just as well even if on a smaller scale.

The value of having pro baseball in the area goes far beyond the dollars collected (which I think will be more than adequate to pay costs). If only 1,500 people attend games regularly, there will be 500-700 children watching in awe. Professional baseball substantiates the baseball and softball dreams of every participating player (age 5-22) who attends, listens to, watches highlights on television, or reads about a game in the newspaper. People set goals for themselves and this practice carries over into their lives as adults, making them good parents and citizens.

Finally, I look to the future. If the Blue Ox weather the storm and garner the large following that I feel they will (as long as management continues its mission to provide good family entertainment), I envision a major league-affiliated minor league team playing in Bangor. What a rivalry, and guaranteed sellout, would arise when the Portland Sea Dogs come to town to battle the Double-A Blue Ox! Current Ox president Dean Gyorgy has confirmed this as a possibility. Bangor, please build a stadium and “Play (Pro) Ball”!

– Shawn Kimball, Levant