on what improvements they will make to Baum Stadium over the summer? I have heard a concourse around the outfield and more suites are all possibilities.
What I’ve heard . . . and I don’t want to make out like I’m an insider . . . this is stuff I’ve read here and other places . . . is that the first order of business is building a new weight/workout room somewhere on the first base side. This is something that the fans won’t see, but will be helpful in recruiting. And it’s the reason we may move from the third base dugout to the first base one as our home dugout - apparently, there would be a tunnel from the dugout to the workout area.
I’m sure others have better info about this. But as far as I’ve read, this is what we’re talking about this round. There may be more later . . . and/or, if we should win the CWS, there might be additional emotion to push other projects into the mix sooner than later.
I don’t think they are ready to add more suites just yet, although the demand is there. The next upgrade, from what I’ve been told, is to build a combo weight room/clubhouse on the first base side of the stadium. I think that will probably get started this off-season.
Wkipedia says more MLB home dugouts are on the first base side:
Dugout choice in MLB
Which team occupies the dugout on the first-base side or the third-base side is purely arbitrary. The Major League Baseball Rulebook is silent on the subject. There are many anecdotal reasons why one dugout is chosen over the other.[citation needed] In the past, the manager also served as the third base coach, so occupying the third base dugout meant less walking for the manager between innings. Contrarily, the thought is that since more close plays occur at first base than third, the first base dugout is preferred. For a pre-existing facility, the home team might choose the better clubhouse and the dugout on that side of the field. (For example, prior to their 2008 move to Nationals Park, the Washington Nationals occupied the third-base dugout at RFK Stadium because it was the larger and newer of the two dugouts.[citation needed]) Another factor can be the sun angle during day games. In ballparks where one of the dugouts faces direct sunlight for much of the game, which can be problematic on hot summer days, the home club might choose the dugout that is better shaded.
In both the National League and American League, more home team dugouts are on the first-base side (9 to 6 each). Even the two oldest parks still in use differ on this point: the Cubs sit on the third-base side at Wrigley while the Red Sox inhabit the first-base dugout at Fenway. Due to the ballpark’s orientation, at Wrigley the third-base dugout faces away from the sun from noon onward, whereas the first base dugout faces sunlight in the late innings. At Fenway, the third-base dugout faces the sun for part of a day game, while the first-base dugout remains shaded.
If they do move the home dugout to the first base side, that will set up an interesting dynamic in the visitor’s bullpen with the Hog Pen right on top of it. They will need to hire full time security to protect the visitor players in their Pen. Can’t you see them dangling corn dogs out to LSU’s players? :lol:
They are soliciting money at the current time from the “usual” suspects. They are trying to raise $25M for an expansion of general seating and the club/weight room. As you’ve said, Yurachek isn’t looking at adding any more suites at this time.
I’ll admit that I hadn’t thought about the bullpen/fan interaction issue. You’re right - it should be interesting.