Rochester Community Baseball To Run Muckdogs in 2011

With a pending contract between Rochester Community Baseball (RCB) and the Genesee County Baseball Club (GCBC) set to expire on October 31, Naomi Silver, President and CEO of the RCB, announced that the group will continue to operate the Batavia Muckdogs for the 2011 NYPL Season.

Naomi Silver, President and CEO of RCB, Inc. stated that "The Red Wings are very pleased to be able to continue to help Batavia in maintaining the operation of the Muckdogs. The Muckdogs are an extremely important asset; not only of great financial value as a Minor League Baseball franchise, but an important entertainment venue in the Batavia community. We would not want to walk away from the operation, leaving the team at risk of not being able to support itself financially while awaiting a sale. Our staying will permit the GCBC board the opportunity to seek out a sale of the Muckdogs on terms which will be most beneficial to the Batavia Community."

Earlier this summer, the RCB, owners and operators of the AAA Rochester Red Wings, announced it was not interested in running the nearby Muckdogs due to low attendance, low advertising revenue, and accumlated yearly losses.  As a result, the GCRC decided to seek bids to sell the franchise.  According to a report in the Batavia Daily News, the GCRC have had inquiries from several groups and negotiations are ongoing.

In September, the GCRC and the St. Louis Cardinals renewed their Player Development Contract for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.  This move led to speculation that the RBC would continue operating the team, as well.

The RBC has operated the Muckdogs since 2008, and their contract with the GCRC allows them to net 5% of the total sales price for each year.  With a committment for 2011, the RBC will be entitled to 20% of the final price, which could earn the group $800,000 if the team sells for the going NYPL rate of 4 million dollars.

Brian Paris, President of the GCBC, is confident that the team will remain in Batavia for the 2011 season:

With five months to go before the start of a new season, it is increasingly unlikely that a new owner or ownership group would have the resources — namely a facility — to move the franchise before the start of the 2011 season.

“There’s no facility that I know of, within the geographic area of the New York-Penn League, that would be suitable to move a team into,” said Brian Paris, president of the Genesee County Baseball Club, via phone Tuesday. “So with each day that passes, it grows more unlikely that a new buyer would relocate the team. There’s no guarantee, but logically, it would be difficult to pull off.”

He is also hoping that the final sale of the franchise goes to a local buyer.  If not, the next best option would be for local individuals or groups to come up with the added advertising dollars to make it advantageous for any owner or ownership group to keep the team in Batavia:

“Our hope is that a local sale will occur, or that an individual or company will step forward with an interest in spending substantial sponsorship dollars, allowing the financial  picture to improve,” said Paris.  “A company interested in naming rights, for example, would  make a big difference here in Batavia, the way it has in most communities around the country.” 

Regardless of who is the eventual owner or owners of the team, it is vitally important for the fans in Genesee County to go out and support the Muckdogs in order to stay in the area.  Last year, the Muckdogs were last in attendence for the NYPL, and 166th out of 176 affiliated MLB Minor League teams, with a total of 36,601.