I'm one of those that think losing the Bakerfield Dodgers was a terrible loss for this city.  We should have spent the money to keep them if the city were to grow and attract.  Is it too late to get  a quality team in Bakersfield?  I don't think so.  The city just have to show some commitment and build a ball park pleasing to the fans (and not one that faces the sunset).  Three things this city has talked about for last 20 years and will probably talk about for the next 20 years are 1) cross town freeway, 2) a new ball park and 3) high speed rail.  We need to stop talking and commit to these if we are to grow and attract.

I agree, casooner. I am a luke warm to cold baseball fan but I enjoyed the B'Dodgers. It was great to see guys that would eventually play in LA.  There was an opportunity to build a new stadium and it failed. I think Bakersfield could revitalize downtown rely less on the "roid and thug clubs" to foster business in the area by building a stadium a la Fresno's Chukchansi Park. It could even be used as a possible venue for big hs sports games.

Bakersfield is now large enough for AAA baseball. With CSUB now being Div I, the other options in town also need to raise up as well if they intend to attract any interest. The Condors also joined a more prestegious league several years ago, joining the ECHL. Albuquerque and Colorado Springs have had AAA for years, and both have very similar met area populations with Bakersfield. Even Reno now has a PCL team (the Aces)! The Dodgers AAA team is leaving Las Vegas in spring to return back to Albuquerque (Google "Isotopes Park". Its beautiful!). I always wonder; if we had an appropriate stadium, might they have come here...a scant 2 hours from LA with an established Dodger fan base? Is John Hale's group still interested as was reported several years ago? We INDEED need to stop talking and commit!

Not now~ who knows how far the economic meltdown will go?That money should be spent on something else.

Hmmmm....well, that puts Harvey in the same boat as John McCain, who made the exact same mistake about the name of the Tampa Bay baseball team. Anybody else remember Bob Dole talking about the Brooklyn Dodgers, back in '96?

Tampa Bay wasn't really a known team until just this year.  I also thought they were still the Devil Rays and just dropped word  'Devil' for the sake of shortening their name.

sage, I think that has always been the case - not now because of the economic.  That was said when I first came to Bakersfield 18 years ago about the cross town freeway and the same is said now.  The economy is what it is - the whole world is down so the commodity market is coming down as well.  A smart person would take this opportunity and start locking up some long term contracts rather than wait until the economy picks up and jump back in with million other rats all competing for the same building goods.  Let's be a contrarian and commit the funds now while the prices are good.  We all know that the market will come back as this adjustment is based on sheer panic around the world. Well, I guess you have to have team first. 

Sam Lynn Ballpark sucks.  No one wants to go there, I'm a huge baseball fan, I definitely don't want to go there.  Build a new ballpark, Bakersfield deserves one.  We get a new ice hockey arena, outdoor hockey park, spray parks, skate park, new Riverwalk park, its time for a new damned ballpark.

Fans want a new ballpark they can enjoy instead of staring into the hot sun, breathing the dust and fighting the ants in a shoddy half-assed piece of crap called Sam Lynn Ballpark.

A new ballpark is what is needed to secure a good team and keep butts in the seats.   No doubt about it.

Watch this video, it will all make sense.  http://www.youtube.com/watc...

 "Is the prospect of an evening at the ballgame (at a shiny new not-Sam-Lynn park) worth it?"

Not when it's 95+ degrees and Air Quality Control is telling us to stay inside so the bad air won't kill us. A stadium hotdog isn't what I want to eat for my last meal.

A shiny new stadium is a nice thing to have, but I highly doubt that it would ever pay for itself...and by "highly doubt", I mean I'm 100% sure that it will never happen in a million years.

Give me a break! How about having the Blaze, Dodgers or whoever else wants to make money build the park in conjunction with CSUB. The City cannot even staff its existing positions (Tandy issued an order to keep open 56 vacant positions citywide, cops, firefighters, roads, parks employees all vacant). 

We have recently spent $14 million on City Hall North ($10 million for the building and $4 million in nice upgrades- floor to ceiling wood paneling, 65" flatscreen TVs, wood mini blinds, new bricks on the outside- such a steal), and now the mayor thinks we need to pour millions into a ball park; you ever been to a Blaze game? What's their attendance? 100? 200? 

Using public funds for a baseball stadium was shot down some years ago when the City Manager's 3 card monte game was exposed. Mr. Tandy said that the stadium downtown would be used for concerts now at the Centennial Garden or Convention Center..hhmmm...so if the concerts are there, then what's supporting the costs of the Garden and Center???? Urban decay?

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a quality stadium and a quality team if there is a market for it and if the City isn't on the hook for millions while they say they cannot hire cops to protect my kids walking home from school, firefighters to respond to emergencies and corp yard workers to fix the pot holes, cover graffiti and get a #*@& freeway built!