2008 Woodie Awards
Sliding out of town
Minor-league baseball team will play all road games in '08
By Caleb Pardick
Rocket Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: News
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The minor-league baseball franchise that played 29 home games at SRU's Jack Critchfield Park during the 2007 season will become a travel-only team for at least 2008.
The Frontier League, which currently owns the team, announced on Nov. 29 that the club will now be known as the Midwest Sliders and will play all 96 of its 2008 regular-season games on the road against the league's 11 other teams, as a part of the East Division.
Steve Tahsler, who served as the Sliders' general manager in 2007, said the league is still looking for a permanent home and owner for the club.
Tahsler also said the league's board of directors decided to make the Sliders a travel-only team for 2008 because it didn't feel that selling the club less than seven months before opening day would be in the league's or the club's best interests.
Two prospective ownership groups are still interested in purchasing the team, Tahsler said. One of the groups is from outside the Slippery Rock area, while the other is headed by local businessman Michael Bencic, who would bring the team back to Slippery Rock, Tahsler said. Tahsler would not reveal details about the out-of-town investment group.
"The league just felt that there wasn't enough time to prepare for next season," Bencic said. "Spring training starts in April, and they hadn't sold it yet, so they decided not to sell it to anybody. We put some time into the deal, and we thought it would be a positive thing for the community to have."
SRU Athletic Director Paul Lueken said the university's net revenue from concessions and a per-game fee the league paid SRU for the right to use the stadium totaled $18,130. He also said he thinks the team could have really taken off had it been given another year or two.
"I don't think they gave attendance a fair shot," Lueken said. "They didn't get after that the way they should have, but the corporate opportunities in this area are limited, and that was as big as attendance."
The Sliders, whose existence was announced on Nov. 20, 2006, finished the 2007 season with a 29-66 record, worst in the league. The franchise debuted on May 23 and played its first home game May 29.
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