At a time when many large U.S. cities are reeling from a labor dispute that threatens to turn major-league baseball into a daily sequel to "The Bad News Bears," fans in Salt Lake City have reason to feel happy.
The Buzz appear ready to play as scheduled, and the only baseball contract with any real significance to city taxpayers has been renegotiated with little fuss and with the best interests of city coffers in mind. Joe Buzas, team owner, has signed a new pact that will pay the city $300,000 in yearly rent and 100 percent of parking revenues.Both are increases over the previous contract and should protect the city from budget shortfalls similar to the approximately $140,000 deficit rung up at the newly completed Franklin Quest Field last year.
All that red ink took a lot of people by surprise. In fairness to the city, however, the Buzz were a bigger success last season than anyone had imagined. The season-long total of 713,224 fans was a minor-league record. Because of that, the city had to spend more than anticipated to clean and maintain the stadium.
The new contract anticipates another successful season, and with good reason: Team officials already report selling more season tickets than last year.
That's quite a contrast to much of the rest of the nation, where the fight between owners and players has reached new levels of absurdity and where optimism is as rare as a triple play. Incredibly, despite the overwhelming desires of fans willing to pay good money for tickets, both sides have stopped meeting. The game that once was synonymous with American culture seems intent on following its first World Series cancellation in 90 years with a season of replacement players.
Attendance has been dismal so far at spring training games - no doubt a harbinger of things to come once the regular season begins. Baseball fans take little joy in watching a level of talent insulting to the title of "major league."
Despite the enthusiasm locally, the lingering strike will affect the Buzz. The Major League Players' Association has asked six of the best Salt Lake players to stay off the field. Whether they do so is still uncertain. However, with or without these people, the remaining stock of Salt Lake players will compete at a level far above what is currently planned for the big leagues. The Buzz compete at the highest level of the minor leagues. Most of the major-league replacement players couldn't qualify for the lowest level during a normal season.
That's another reason for Salt Lake fans to feel good about the upcoming season.
City officials and Buzas have examined fan support and predicted that Salt Lake City could be home to a major-league franchise within 10 or 20 years. Perhaps they're right.
But, for the moment, fans should be glad their brand of ball still is one notch away from the pettiness and greed of the big time.