Ducks GM wary of Springfield stadium

When the Mountain Ducks take the field opening day May 15 in Amarillo Texas they will be playing under a new name: the Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks.

Although the team's offices and playing field are in Ozark, the Ducks added Springfield to the name late last season, according to General Manager Brad Eldridge. It is official this year.

Eldridge said the name change was needed to help those outside the area locate the team.

"We were getting calls," he said, "the national press didn't know where Ozark was. It was basically to locate us on a map."

Springfield was the easy choice, Eldridge said, because of the Ducks' fan base and what the city means to southwest Missouri.

"Literally 50 percent to 75 percent of our fans come from Springfield," he said. "It's natural because of the population Springfield is the hub of southwest Missouri. From a standpoint both on the national level and in Springfield, we want people to feel that this is Springfield's team."

While it may be considered Springfield's team for now, it may not be the city's only baseball team. Springfield developer John Q. Hammons' plan to bring a AA minor league team to Springfield may become a reality as early as 2003.

The city's developer agreement with Hammons to construct a new baseball stadium in downtown Springfield worries the Ducks and Eldridge for a couple of reasons. He said Springfield citizens should worry, too.

"I think there is a lot of risk involved with that baseball stadium. My main concern is the debt service," he said, which according to Hammons' 10-year pro forma statement is more than $1 million per year.

However, Hammons said the pro forma is "strictly preliminary" and "should not be used." "Everything is premature today," Hammons said, adding that construction begins Aug. 1 and that he will announce a team in the next 60 days.

Eldridge projects the cost to be near $20 million. Debt service is generally 10 percent of the total loan or bond, he added.

"I know that Mr. Hammons has come out and said he is going to personally guarantee it, but there is no other minor league stadium in the country that can cover between a million five and two million dollars worth of debt service on their own ... without taxpayer assistance. That's the bottom line."

Another figure that Eldridge questions is Hammons' first year estimated profits. According to the pro forma statement, Hammons' believes the park will make a $2.9 million profit its first year and increase each subsequent season.

"That is impossible," Eldridge said. "I question his numbers. There are major league teams that don't make (that much). There's only about 30 percent to 40 percent of the 200 minor league teams out there that make money," one of them being the Mountain Ducks.

Eldridge said Price Cutter Park's average attendance in the first two seasons was 3,700 and 3,500, respectively, which resulted in a profit at season's end.

Hammons is banking on filling 6,000 seats per game during a 140-game season.

"I think it's high, but it's attainable," Eldridge said. "There are some AA teams out there that average 6,000, but in bigger markets," and they do not have another professional ball club within a few miles.

Eldridge said he is concerned with the close proximity of the two teams because the area is not large enough to successfully support both.

"I think there is room here (for two teams), but it would hurt both of us," he said. "Neither ... could maximize our potential. It would split ... fan loyalties and corporate loyalties."

But the Ducks will continue to build on the success of the team's first two seasons, and Eldridge makes it a personal goal to ensure that happens.

Ducks' owner Horn Chen "has a $3 million investment here he's not going to walk away from it," he said. "And if I can't do it, then he'll get someone else in here who can. And that's my challenge."

Eldridge's confidence lies in the strong community bond the Ducks have created, which includes programs with local libraries, schools, hospitals and charities. The most popular program provides the opportunity for local businesses to donate a dollar amount to the charity of their choice for every Ducks home run.

Eldridge said the Ducks also give away tickets to charities like the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Ronald McDonald House.

Another factor in the Ducks favor, according to Eldridge, is the difference in ticket prices; the Ducks' average ticket price is $4.75. Hammons proposes an $8 average ticket.

"I think they thought that by announcing they were going to do the baseball stadium we would run or we would just pack up and leave, and that's not what were going to do ... we will survive," Eldridge said.