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Dickey-Stephens Park

Arkansawyer

Should a new stadium be constructed in War Memorial Park or by the Broadyway Bridge in North Little Rock's downtown?  

44 members have voted

  1. 1. Should a new stadium be constructed in War Memorial Park or by the Broadyway Bridge in North Little Rock's downtown?

    • Downtown (NLR)
      35
    • Midtown (LR)
      9

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Architect Town

Architect

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Minor league baseball isn't about wins or losses, teams have no control over that because their personnel's dictated by the majors. Memphis and Springfield have outstanding attendance despite being in the miserable Cardinals' farm system.

You do know the Travs can't leave, don't you? Unlike just about any other franchise in the minors the Travs are owned by hundreds of shareholders around Central Arkansas, all limited to only a few shares a piece so nobody can buy them all up and move the team. The only way Pulaski Co could lose the Travs was if Major League Baseball stopped granting waivers for Ray Winder because it was no longer safe by their standards. Dickey-Stephens assures that won't happen for decades.

I attended a Memphis Redbirds game last Thursday evening (a week ago), and I can tell you attendance was NOT great at all. I bet that place seats 20,000 (or close to it), and there couldn't have been 2,000 people there.

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EJC Whistle-Stop

EJC

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And THAT is what I expected to hear from some of MY friends. A lot of people in Arkansas feel uncomfortable when something isn't right out of the shrinkwrap and doesn't measure up to their whiteflight suburb standards. Bigger = better. Then they drink Corona thinking it's a fine import beer. Hey, EJC, we probably have mutual friends! I could tell you're good people. ;)

BTW, real rednecks drink PBR.

You're right, bigger<>better, something that the developers knew when they kept DS small. But, more options in terms of seating, concessions, views usually IS better. And in this case, it simply does work. There is no way, other than sentimentality, that the RW experience supercedes DS. What your posts have described is that sentimentality. But before you go feeling "left out"...just go for a while and you'll find a home in that stadium just as you found in RW. The great thing about DS is that there's a place for everyone, even the beer bong crowd. Heck, even our favorite beer vendor is still out there sellin'.

RW didn't live up to most people's standards, so yeah, most folks wanted SOMETHING to improve. So you either revamp RW for enormous cost and marginal benefit or you build something new. I didn't have a dog in the fight when the decision was made, but now that I've seen new, I can clearly see it as more enjoyable in every way except that it takes longer for me to get to. I'm OK with that....it's a fair tradeoff.

And here I thought real rednecks drank Old Milwaukee...

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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I attended a Memphis Redbirds game last Thursday evening (a week ago), and I can tell you attendance was NOT great at all. I bet that place seats 20,000 (or close to it), and there couldn't have been 2,000 people there.

That's the discrepancy between paid and actual attendance, I guess.

Their average attendance last season was best in the minors, over 11,000 a game.

BTW, real rednecks drink PBR.

A can of PBR costs $2.75 at DS Park, a larger Diamond Bear Draft around $3.50.

I'm all for being a neck and drinking PBR, I just can't force myself to pay that much for one.

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  • 1 month later...
Veloise City

Veloise

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Greetings from a visiting Michiganian.

As part of my business trip, they took us to your (new, I guess) stadium last night. Pretty nice place. I like the way it's situated so that many seats are in the shade for evening games. Seems to use the riverfront well (they have us staying in LR, and I can see into the facility from my room, and Markham St). Looks like a nice addition to the riverscape.

When I get home to the Grand Rapids forum, I'll be sharing pics with them (and probably with y'all so you can enjoy the visitor's perspective).

Is there any place to buy ice cream DT in the evenings?

[of course I brought my bicycle!]

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johnnydr87 Burg

johnnydr87

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Greetings from a visiting Michiganian.

As part of my business trip, they took us to your (new, I guess) stadium last night. Pretty nice place. I like the way it's situated so that many seats are in the shade for evening games. Seems to use the riverfront well (they have us staying in LR, and I can see into the facility from my room, and Markham St). Looks like a nice addition to the riverscape.

When I get home to the Grand Rapids forum, I'll be sharing pics with them (and probably with y'all so you can enjoy the visitor's perspective).

Is there any place to buy ice cream DT in the evenings?

[of course I brought my bicycle!]

Somebody else could probably tell you a downtown ice cream place better than I.... but I do know that an ice cream truck passes through Markham daily :dontknow:.

Cool that you brought your bicycle. You should consider biking the Arkansas River Trail. The eastern end goes through downtown Little Rock/North Little Rock. The western end goes over the Big Dam Bridge (the biggest pedestrian/bicycle bridge in the world) and ventures into the far eastern edge of the Ouachitas. Pinnacle Mountain is in view. It's about 12 miles...or probably 1-2 hours. (Honestly, I haven't made the time to do it yet, but I'm trying.)

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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Greetings from a visiting Michiganian.

As part of my business trip, they took us to your (new, I guess) stadium last night. Pretty nice place. I like the way it's situated so that many seats are in the shade for evening games. Seems to use the riverfront well (they have us staying in LR, and I can see into the facility from my room, and Markham St). Looks like a nice addition to the riverscape.

When I get home to the Grand Rapids forum, I'll be sharing pics with them (and probably with y'all so you can enjoy the visitor's perspective).

Is there any place to buy ice cream DT in the evenings?

[of course I brought my bicycle!]

Man, talk about nailing a glaring need. The River Market building has a lot of vendors but no ice cream vendor. An ice cream/gelato kiosk would do very well there.

Glad you liked the stadium. The old stadium had more shade because it had an overhang but sure doesn't have the other amenities the new one does, nor the view.

I agree with johnny - if you like to bike try the Riverdale area just west of downtown. It's a clean, safe area with nice city parks along the river with large number of joggers and bicyclists. As johnny said Kavanaugh is close and has bike lanes but it's fairly steep to get there and hilly once you're there as well. It's a nice area to ride, though.

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EJC Whistle-Stop

EJC

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Man, talk about nailing a glaring need. The River Market building has a lot of vendors but no ice cream vendor. An ice cream/gelato kiosk would do very well there.

Glad you liked the stadium. The old stadium had more shade because it had an overhang but sure doesn't have the other amenities the new one does, nor the view.

I agree with johnny - if you like to bike try the Riverdale area just west of downtown. It's a clean, safe area with nice city parks along the river with large number of joggers and bicyclists. As johnny said Kavanaugh is close and has bike lanes but it's fairly steep to get there and hilly once you're there as well. It's a nice area to ride, though.

And if you want a nice hill AND some ice cream, ride up the hill through Hillcrest, then Heights and go to Purple Cow. ....just kidding...don't do that.

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Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

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And if you want a nice hill AND some ice cream, ride up the hill through Hillcrest, then Heights and go to Purple Cow. ....just kidding...don't do that.

Yeah, the Purple Cow's the place for ice cream.

I couldn't imagine biking up Cantrell Hill and living to tell about it.

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Veloise City

Veloise

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Yeah, the Purple Cow's the place for ice cream.

I couldn't imagine biking up Cantrell Hill and living to tell about it.

It's a five-speed, so I'd be tempted if I had a map.

Last visit (Nov '05) I had a bike and enjoyed part of the trail (love the helmet display). I keep hearing about the Big Dam Bridge...

Tonight it's the Arkansas Queen river boat. Can't wait to shoot pics. "Yo, GR, we have a river too!"

And we have similar ice cream deficiencies in DT GR (our presidential museum received some coverage in January).

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theman Hamlet

theman

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Greetings from a visiting Michiganian.

As part of my business trip, they took us to your (new, I guess) stadium last night. Pretty nice place. I like the way it's situated so that many seats are in the shade for evening games. Seems to use the riverfront well (they have us staying in LR, and I can see into the facility from my room, and Markham St). Looks like a nice addition to the riverscape.

When I get home to the Grand Rapids forum, I'll be sharing pics with them (and probably with y'all so you can enjoy the visitor's perspective).

Is there any place to buy ice cream DT in the evenings?

[of course I brought my bicycle!]

I hope you enjoy your stay in LR/NLR. How does your downtown compare to our downtown. Seems like there are some similarities; a river, presidential library, lack of ice cream. I look forward to seeing your pics.

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  • 3 weeks later...
skirby Town

skirby

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Attendance at D-S for the first half of the season has passed the season total at Ray Winder for last year by almost 10,000. The Travs expect to set a new attendance record for the team before the end of July. Merchandise sales so far are close to being double of what they were for all of last year. Also, it has been announced that addition seating for 150 will be added. The seating will be installed after the season is over.

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Architect Town

Architect

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Attendance at D-S for the first half of the season has passed the season total at Ray Winder for last year by almost 10,000. The Travs expect to set a new attendance record for the team before the end of July. Merchandise sales so far are close to being double of what they were for all of last year. Also, it has been announced that addition seating for 150 will be added. The seating will be installed after the season is over.

Excellent news. How does this compare to other Texas League teams?

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  • 4 weeks later...
skirby Town

skirby

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At tonights game the TRAVS will set a new home attendance record which was set in 1989. Tonight will also see the attendance mark pass the 300,000 level. With 14 games left after tonight the attendance for the year should be around 385,000. With the way the TRAVS are playing now additional playoff games should enable the TRAVS to pass the 400,000 mark for the year.

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Architect Town

Architect

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At tonights game the TRAVS will set a new home attendance record which was set in 1989. Tonight will also see the attendance mark pass the 300,000 level. With 14 games left after tonight the attendance for the year should be around 385,000. With the way the TRAVS are playing now additional playoff games should enable the TRAVS to pass the 400,000 mark for the year.

I think we're going to the Twister's game tonight....its interesting how often they play at the same time. Often we ride the streetcar over and half is for football, half for baseball. Its easier to get seats for the football game!

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EJC Whistle-Stop

EJC

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I think we're going to the Twister's game tonight....its interesting how often they play at the same time. Often we ride the streetcar over and half is for football, half for baseball. Its easier to get seats for the football game!

I've been to at least 10 Travs games this year. It's MUCH easier to get tickets for the Twisters in spite of their great season.

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Architect Town

Architect

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I've been to at least 10 Travs games this year. It's MUCH easier to get tickets for the Twisters in spite of their great season.

Yes, but only because of the size of the venue...its still very much a problem to get seats at Dickey Stephens b/c they sold so many season tickets...we've yet to go and sit in fixed seats that we bought (have to sit in the berm)...even getting there an hour early. I would guess that the average attendance of Twister games actually exceeds that of the average Traveler's game.

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