OKC Redhawks will have a new Triple A Affiliate next year

[Plutonic Panda]

Sorry if this is a stupid question or this has already been posted; what does this mean? Higher attendance... more funding....

[BrettM2]

Sorry if this is a stupid question or this has already been posted; what does this mean? Higher attendance... more funding....

The Dodgers are better than the Astros, so hopefully better players. Better players = more interest = higher attendance = we don't lose the team.

[shawnw]

To the average ordinary everyday person it will not be a perceptible change. The season ticket holders that keep track of every play on their scorecard will certainly notice.

[OkieHornet]

thought this was interesting:
"Besides having the Dodgers as a parent in 2015, the RedHawks will also reportedly undergo a name change and branding overhaul; Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark reportedly will see some facility investment after the deal is finalized."
Guber group buying RedHawks; ties to Dodgers means new affiliation | News

[shawnw]

It NEEDS it. Showing lots of signs of wear, and what's going with the upper deck seats (removal, not the covering up) is a long-term problem...

[shawnw]

That would also explain why there's such a merch firesale going on. My daughter (who works for the team) got a ton of stuff for under $10 (75% off).

[Richard at Remax]

If anything, they need a new scoreboard with bigger digital numbers. other than some small things here and there I've always had a good time there (20 game pack season ticket holder last 3 years)

[OkieHornet]

i've always enjoyed the games at the ballpark, but i go for the on-field product - i'm not interested in all the promotions and other going-ons. but i do think it's time for the ballpark to get some sprucing up... just a simple power-washing and painting would go a long way. yes, a new video board would be nice - one where you could clearly read the stats from the bleachers.

[shawnw]

They removed the bleachers from the left field line and replaced them with seats from the upper deck (from the right field line). If you look closely you'll see that the advertisement covers in that area are covering concrete, not seats. This is a problem long term I feel. Since I'm there so much watching my daughter, I've noticed a number of other wear-and-tear issues that probably need to be addressed at some point.

[OkieHornet]

ahh, didn't notice that about the upper deck seats.

when i was at a game last week, i noticed that they'll be converting the left field outfield benches to some sort of party deck area? i just quickly glanced at the diagram board they had set up and didn't get back to look at it more closely.

[Prunepicker]

NewsOK: Oklahoma City RedHawks will be Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate
Oklahoma City RedHawks will be Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate | News OK

This is great news since I'm a die hard Dodger fan and never cared much
for the Rangers.

[Prunepicker]

The Dodgers are better than the Astros, so hopefully better players. Better
players = more interest = higher attendance = we don't lose the team.

I remember when the Colt .45's were the parent team of the 89'ers.

[Laramie]

I remember when the Colt .45's were the parent team of the 89'ers.

Definitely remember the Houston Colt 45s of the NL pre Astrodome era. Upon completion of the 8th Wonder of the World; the team changed its name to the Houston Astros. The City of Houston was famous in the 60s for the 'Manned Spacecraft Center' NASA control operations. The city soon went Astro nuts.

Our OKC RedHawks are averaging 6,120 per game as of August 24th, 8th best attendance among the 16 team PCL. Among the 16 teams in the PCL; six have one or two major league franchises in their markets.

PCL city	Major League Team(s)	Metro population	Change	PCL Avg
2. Sacramento	NBA	2,215,770	+4.84%	8,289
6. Salt Lake City	NBA	1,140,483	+4.84%	6,661
8. Oklahoma City	NBA	1,319,677	+5.32%	6,120
9. Memphis	NBA	1,341,746	+1.28%	5,787
13. Nashville	NFL, NHL (2)	1,757,912	+5.21%	4,840
14. New Orleans	NFL, NBA (2)	1,240,977	+4.30%	4,759

Pacific Coast League Attendance | Pacific Coast League Stats

Albuquerque ranks 3rd in the PCL in average attendance with a losing record of 60-76. The RedHawks have a winning record of 72-66. Let's hope the Dodgers bring in a much stronger AAA minor league development operation than Houston.

The Dodgers will relocate their top development team which is 664 miles (Albuquerque) away to OKC which is 1180 miles from Los Angeles. The air really must be thin in Albuquerque for them to make that move.

Los Angeles sees something in Oklahoma City the other major league teams don't see--decentralization location for trades.

This may be a better situation for making trades; ship them from OKC central, use DFW mega airport to specified destination when necessary.

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[catch22]

I don't understand the air travel aspect of this, Laramie?

OKC-LAX is about 2 and a half hours and ABQ-LAX is about an hour and a half probably. Really pretty neutral.

[Laramie]

I don't understand the air travel aspect of this, Laramie?

OKC-LAX is about 2 and a half hours and ABQ-LAX is about an hour and a half probably. Really pretty neutral.

Just think it would be more of an advantage for Dodgers to keep their top development franchise in Albuquerque. Albuquerque doesn't have the pro-sports menu (NBA, AHL, USL-Pro) and mega college profiles (OU-OSU) to compete with in their market as OKC. The Isotopes are among the top sports attractions in town along with the University of New Mexico. They cited the thin air as one of the reasons for leaving Albuquerque. The Dodgers obtain great young talent.

Now, just how much of an advantage this will be to OKC is to be determined. I'm not sold on how this is going to benefit OKC other than we will get to see a lot of future talent. Does this translate into a better won-lost record? Look at their record (60-76) in Albuquerque. Houston's triple-A development team is competitive at 72-66 in OKC.

The advantage for the Dodgers revolving door farm system; they won't have to dispatch them from OKC to LAX when making trades. They can send them from OKC or via DFW in some cases especially if it involves a trade. DFW is a bigger airport than LAX; that's the only reason I see as an advantage for the Dodgers to move to OKC. They move into a larger TV market that enjoys the Cardinals, Rangers, Astros, Royals & Rockies.

There are more TV households:

41 Oklahoma City 718,770
59 Tulsa 526,960

47 Albuquerque-Santa Fe 691,450

Tulsa could be in the process of changing its affiliation with the Colorado Rockies and become someone's AAA or AA affiliate. Could the Dodgers capture the OKC & Tulsa markets? The 7,833-seat ONEOK FIELD in Tulsa has hosted a record crowd of 9,417 in the Bedlam series. Tulsa may be ready to return to AAA. The Tulsa Drillers are averaging 6,266 in the Texas League (2nd best).

Texas League Attendance | Texas League Stats

The Texas Rangers once had their top farm clubs in OKC and Tulsa.

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[dankrutka]

I still don't get the air travel point. So, you're saying an advantage to being in OKC is that they can fly players from OKC to DFW to then fly somewhere else? I don't get it.

[shawnw]

Yeah... I have been to 16 minor league ballparks, but not once did I fly to the city for that purpose. I was always already in the town on some other business and then went and caught a game.

[OkieHornet]

the travel thing isn't an issue in my eyes. we've got nonstops to lax, and it's not like players get called up and sent down constantly.

[Richard at Remax]

not to beat it to death but sometimes the team can be in another city when you get called up. doesn't always have to be LAX

[Laramie]

thought this was interesting:
"Besides having the Dodgers as a parent in 2015, the RedHawks will also reportedly undergo a name change and branding overhaul; Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark reportedly will see some facility investment after the deal is finalized."
Guber group buying RedHawks; ties to Dodgers means new affiliation | News

Let's hope they get away the nuclear name category like Isotopes, Protons, Atoms, Electrons, T cells, Antibodies, Elements etc.,

Can you imagine: Oklahoma City Antibodies (LMAO...)

We need to keep 'The Brick' in great shape. If there are sections of seats which need to be repaired or replaced, we need to get on top of this. At some point (maybe MAPS IV); we need to generate funds ($50 million) for repairs and mild renovations of many of the projects MAPS has produced over the years (Ballpark, Arena, Civic Center, Bricktown Canal, General upgrades...).

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[theanvil]

The Oklahoma City Heisenbergs. It would be a nice tribute to the affiliate's Albuquerque roots.

[Throckmorton]

The Oklahoma City Heisenbergs. It would be a nice tribute to the affiliate's Albuquerque roots.

You're goddamn right.

(And sky blue uniforms, please.)

[OKCDrummer77]

The Oklahoma City Heisenbergs. It would be a nice tribute to the affiliate's Albuquerque roots.

I don't know. I'm a little Uncertain about this one.

[shawnw]

As long as it's not the "Oklahoma City Dodgers", which would be lame, we'll be fine I think. That said I'd be okay with Oklahoma City Trolley Dodgers, paying homage both to our transit past/future as well as to the name origin of the Dodgers. Ideally they'd go back to 89ers if there would be a change at all. And hopefully they don't do what EVERYbody does and try to take the bricktown out of the ballpark name. The city just needs to stick that in all future leases, "bricktown" must appear in the stadium name...

[bucfan1512]

Most likely will still be Red hawks since the team owns the rights to the names and likenesses.