This month is about indoor football and the start of baseball, where we will start first…College Baseball began a month earlier and a couple new ballparks have opened, neither of which are on The List as they are under capacity. After years of delays and waiting, Coastal Carolina finally opens their 2,500-seat Springs Brooks Stadium (hard to say). The Chanticleers have a top program and the ballpark matches the direction they are headed. The other park is a product of the stupid conference re-alignment. With the generally weak baseball program of West Virginia joining the powerhouses in the Big XII, a ballpark to at least fit in the league was needed. The temporarily-named Monongalia County Ballpark will serve that purpose, but not just yet as this winter has delayed the opening. Out in Arizona, the Sun Devils followed their rivals’ footsteps as they join the University of Arizona in moving off-campus to a former spring training home. Arizona State leaves Packard Stadium to the briefly vacant Phoenix Municipal Stadium (Oakland moved their Spring Training back to Mesa and a renovated Hohokam Stadium). The move was a success in Tucson, not sure how it will pan out for the Sun Devils. Finally in the SEC, a big renovation to Sewell-Thomas Stadium means that Alabama will play all of their 2015 home games at the Hoover Met, which is still the host of the conference tournament. Georgia also made renovations to their ballpark, Foley Field.
In the world of indoor football, the United Indoor Football League folded, while two leagues merged as the CPIFL and LSFL created Champions Indoor Football. The fewer of these smaller 4-8 team leagues, the better. Not all teams made the move as a few moved to different leagues, while some ceased operations all together. One of those teams sadly was the Lincoln Haymakers. Their home, the Pershing Center has been closed and the future is in doubt for the smaller venue that now sits in the shadows of the gleaming Pinnacle Bank Arena. It’s a sad demise for the venue. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the debut of the Duke City Gladiators brings Albuquerque’s Tingley Coliseum back from the abyss. The venerable facility located on the New Mexico State Fairgrounds will be host to the Gladiators this season.
Going up to the top tier Arena Football League, Pittsburgh and San Antonio folded, while in a surprise move, the Iowa Barnstormers dropped down to the IFL. For decades, the Barnstormers have been a mainstay in the Arena League and they draw quite well in Des Moines, so this move caught me off guard. They will continue to play in Wells Fargo Arena. Meanwhile, Vegas gets a team that will play in the Thomas & Mack Center. In the IFL, to go along with the Iowa move, the Wichita Falls Nighthawks replace the Texas Calvary and in Big Sky Country, the RimRock Arena becomes home to a permanent tenant again as Billings takes the place of the Wyoming franchise that played in Casper. The Casper Event Center will remain on The List as it hosts the state basketball tournament each year. Down to the lower leagues, Georgia (Rome) and Harrisburg are out of the PIFL, while Erie is in. Meanwhile, the AIF and X-League had too many changes for me to muster the energy to discuss.
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Stadium and Arena Visits 