Winnipeg - Of Interest

[esquire]

^ Katz gets the parking lots for another 15 years. So our return for giving Katz a sweetheart deal is getting stuck with a semi permanent surface parking lot that makes money for him... perfect.

To Danny D Oh's point, a WCBL team would be preferable to the Goldeyes in my view. As you point out, most people wouldn't even notice the difference. And someone like Brian Mayes who was talking about maintaining affordable entertainment in the city would surely be happy with that change... in case he hasn't noticed, Goldeyes games are not that cheap anymore.

[buzzg]

There's no reason we can't have 2 teams there, it just shouldn't be the city paying for it (and especially not locking in surface lots for 15+ years).

Also you can still get into a Goldeyes game for the cost of a 3D movie. Sure it's not $7 anymore, but neither are movies. While I'm not a big baseball fan and find the actual games painful for Goldeyes, it's still a fun (cheap) night out and the fan experience and amenities are great at Shaw Park. Great food and beer selection for reasonable prices.

[pspeid]

Comments credited to Katz in an article in today's Sun:

“This, as accepted, is the worst deal for a lease for any team in North America."

“The bottom line is it’s a deal that I put forward and a deal that I can accept. I’m prepared to live with it. But don’t anybody tell me it’s a good deal compared to any other deal with any other baseball team in any other venue.”

Worst deal ever? Really? I wonder why Katz continues to play the victim/martyr card. Not knowing anything about his business interests I would suspect he is trying to set the stage for approval of some kind of future deal he is planning?

I used to kind of like the guy, but now....???

[Danny D Oh]

Easy to make that claim and not really provide any information as Katz has from day one of this process.

In essence he owns the stadium and leases the land from the city along with a surface parking lot for at most $75,000/year plus maintenance (why I say he owns the stadium, he operates and maintains it).

If he feels hard done by he should look at a lease agreement for medium-sized retail space in Polo Park.

He's getting a nice deal.

The best for the city would be to sell that land. Yes the ballpark is nice, but it is on now prime land that would bring a nice sum and a nice tax bill if developed.

This has to factor into Katz actually paying for the land, it has value. The city doesn't have an obligation to make playing in this city as attractive as possible for a 9th tier minor league baseball team, and I love going to ball games, but I think the value of the Goldeyes to Winnipeg has been inflated in the process vs the present and future value of that tract of land for other purposes.

[NewIreland]

Originally Posted by esquire

Mayes made it sound like the City was going to stuck with the cost of running an empty ballpark indefinitely if a deal wasn't reached, but I have a hard time believing that they couldn't have either found a) a willing tenant (hell, put Valour FC in there.), or b) someone interested in demolishing the stadium and redeveloping the site. It's a good location right between Portage and Main, and The Forks.

The exchange is going to have over 5 thousand residents soon. I predict very high attendance in the coming years. A lot of people love to walk down to Shaw to catch a game in the summer, even if they don't like baseball. It's a beautiful ball park... arguably the nicest in Canada. Desirable location? No Doubt, but it's currently surrounded by a sea of parking lots that need to be developed. If the developers are hotel chains, restaurants, or even tech companies, don't you think having a sports facility nearby adds value? Baseball is huge with the office crowd... a great way to unwind with colleagues. I can't believe that anyone would even suggest getting rid of Shaw Park... it's a gem!

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by NewIreland

The exchange is going to have over 5 thousand residents soon. I predict very high attendance in the coming years. A lot of people love to walk down to Shaw to catch a game in the summer, even if they don't like baseball. It's a beautiful ball park... arguably the nicest in Canada. Desirable location? No Doubt, but it's currently surrounded by a sea of parking lots that need to be developed. If the developers are hotel chains, restaurants, or even tech companies, don't you think having a sports facility nearby adds value? Baseball is huge with the office crowd... a great way to unwind with colleagues. I can't believe that anyone would even suggest getting rid of Shaw Park... it's a gem!

I agree, Shaw Park is a great place to watch a baseball game. It seems like there has always been an element who felt the location was "wasted" as a baseball stadium (starting I believe, with Susan Thompson, and, I suspect, parroted by frustrated developers who wanted to build condos on that site). Personally i think it adds greatly to the area. Aerial photos of the downtown look great with the ballpark there, and yes there are PLENTY of empty lots that still need to be filled before anyone should seriously suggest tearing the place down (IMO).

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Also you can still get into a Goldeyes game for the cost of a 3D movie. Sure it's not $7 anymore, but neither are movies. While I'm not a big baseball fan and find the actual games painful for Goldeyes, it's still a fun (cheap) night out and the fan experience and amenities are great at Shaw Park. Great food and beer selection for reasonable prices.

The last time I took my family to a Goldeyes game I ended up paying nearly thirty bucks a pop for tickets once all was said and done. It isn't really the cheap ticket it once was, and when you consider how little the players earn it seems like it's a bit much.

And Katz complaining about the deal he's getting is a joke. That team is a money machine for him.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

The last time I took my family to a Goldeyes game I ended up paying nearly thirty bucks a pop for tickets once all was said and done. It isn't really the cheap ticket it once was, and when you consider how little the players earn it seems like it's a bit much.

And Katz complaining about the deal he's getting is a joke. That team is a money machine for him.

You can sit in the Grand Slam section (where the new craft beer bar is) for $14. If you choose to buy more expensive seats (especially win the stadium is never even at half capacity anymore) that's your decision.

Liam Neeson's new movie is in 2D IMAX, it's $18.99. And that's not even a true IMAX theatre.

[buzzg]

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing but wow I don't know if I've ever seen the Assiniboine River as low as it currently is. Seems close to half the width of normal.

[Lars65]

^^^
Oh it's been worse. As a kid in the 70's a few years I could walk across in spots near the perimeter and not even get my knees wet. Probably could've done it a couple time during the 80's as well but I was considerably less adventurous by then, as would be the norm

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by Lars65

^^^
Oh it's been worse. As a kid in the 70's a few years I could walk across in spots near the perimeter and not even get my knees wet. Probably could've done it a couple time during the 80's as well but I was considerably less adventurous by then, as would be the norm

Probably not in '79, '80, '84, and '89 as these were years of substantial amounts of rain

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by LilZebra

Probably not in '79, '80, '84, and '89 as these were years of substantial amounts of rain

'79 would have been a tough one for river fording.

[Lars65]

Yes, which years in the 70's would be hard to recall, as it was so long ago. I remember it was really low in 87 and 88 because it was so dry. More into fishing than wading at that point in life, though.

[blueandgoldguy]

The Goldeyes' attendance has been dropping for years...all while the population of the Exchange has increased. Just go to the Goldeyes website and click on the league attendance tab. Check Goldeyes attendance over the past decade for the regular season...declining every single year.

The quality of play has declined too compared to 15 - 20 years ago. Back then, the Northern League was comparable to a level between single A and double A baseball. Now it might not even be as good as single A.

I was checking out Manitoba's crime rate index and violent crime rate index over the past 5 years at Stats Canada and it has skyrocketed!

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1...pid=3510018901

I'm listing it here in the Winnipeg section because the majority of the people in this province live in the city...as such the stats will be significantly affected by changes in the crime rates in Winnipeg.

It appears those huge annual increases in the police budget are making Winnipeg a safer place huh?

[plrh]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing but wow I don't know if I've ever seen the Assiniboine River as low as it currently is. Seems close to half the width of normal.

It does seem quite low. It is a good year for the big riverbank stabilization job along Wellington from the park to Academy.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

I was checking out Manitoba's crime rate index and violent crime rate index over the past 5 years at Stats Canada and it has skyrocketed!

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1...pid=3510018901

I'm listing it here in the Winnipeg section because the majority of the people in this province live in the city...as such the stats will be significantly affected by changes in the crime rates in Winnipeg.

It appears those huge annual increases in the police budget are making Winnipeg a safer place huh?

It's gotten bad in small towns like Portage la Prairie too, so I'd be curious to see it broken out by city. One murder in a town of 13,000 would have a huge effect on crime rate.

Originally Posted by plrh

It does seem quite low. It is a good year for the big riverbank stabilization job along Wellington from the park to Academy.

Even better year for just closing it to vehicles and making it AT only.

[plrh]

^^ My wife is soooo upset, as a road cyclist, they are adding speed humps and raised intersections.

[michelleb]

Cities only use speed bumps when they're too chicken to actually filter vehicle traffic off of roads. They punish the wrong people.

Raised intersections though are a good thing if done right...I'll reserve judgement until I see the Made in Winnipeg implementation.

[buzzg]

The raised intersections on Waterfront are really well designed, but – like seems to be the theme here – poorly signed. Same for the semi-raised ones on Lily.

There’s no yellow “hump” signage to warn you and it can be tough to see it coming while driving as it’s a slow grade. Also unclear if pedestrians or cars have right of way. You’d think it would be pedestrians or why else raise the intersections, and there’s pavers marking the crossing in the road, but without signs it’s not obvious to drivers (or anyone) if this is the case. Had so many awkward moments trying to cross and drive through there.

[rrskylar]

Walked along River (Red) late this afternoon, lots of zebra mussel shells, probably accounts for why river looked so clear this fall compared to the usual!

Wonder how their emergence will effect city infrastructure along riverbank?!?