Can Centennial Field adequately support a Class-A baseball team?
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By CHUCK CLARINO Staff Writer - Published: July 5, 2009
BURLINGTON — Unfortunately, Ray Pecor's phone has been silent.
The news has been out for nearly a year that the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Class-A team in the New York-Penn League that Pecor has owned for 16 years, might not be able to continue operations here due to serious concerns about their home park, Centennial Field.
Stories published after the 2008 season, and just before the current campaign, stated that Major League Baseball might force Pecor into a difficult and unsavory choice: Either sell the franchise or move it to a more suitable ballpark because Centennial Field does not meet many of the requirements demanded for a Class-A team.
"Now we're in a pickle," said Pecor, riffing on an old baseball term. "I would love to keep the team here and my family would love to keep the team here but the problem is that I have to come up with a facility that these professional ball players can play in."
According to Pecor, he received a report from MLB that was compiled in 2007 that outlined deficiencies in the clubhouse facilities, the dugouts, bullpen areas, lighting and other areas at Centennial. Among other inadequacies, the height of the pitching mound is not regulation and the distance between some bases are not the required 90 feet.
Pecor has been able to forestall the MLB brass and the team has been granted waivers to continue operation, some dating back to 2002, but he believes that doomsday is coming, even though he still has a year remaining on his player development contract with the Washington Nationals.
"I believe that in July or August they may say, 'You've been promising another park for five or six years and you haven't done it and we're not going to wait any longer, now you're going to have to sell the team or move it,'" Pecor said in a recent interview from his office on the Burlington waterfront. "It doesn't matter that I have the player development deal."
It also may not matter that Pecor has invested hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of his own money into the park and worked with city, county and state officials, baseball owners and executives, and private investors seeking a solution. Despite the imminent threat that this year may hold the last innings of professional baseball in Vermont, no one has called or offered a fresh game plan.
It seems unfair as Pecor, now 70, is still regarded as a local hero for bringing professional baseball back to the Green Mountain State after a hiatus. His persistent efforts began in the late 1980s after, first the Vermont Reds and then the Vermont Mariners, both Class-AA affiliates in the Eastern League, pulled up stakes and left town.
Pecor bought the New York-Penn League franchise located in Jamestown, N.Y., in 1993 for $700,000 and began the process of moving it to Burlington.
In order for Pecor to bring the team here, he had to have a place for it to play. Pecor considered building a new multipurpose stadium. He looked at sites in Essex and Williston, but nothing materialized.
The notion to use Centennial Field, where both the Mariners and Vermont Reds played, was floated. Centennial, whose grandstand was built in 1922, is widely considered the oldest minor league park in the country. So, in order for Pecor to use it, he needed to bring it up to certain standards.
Centennial Field is owned by the University of Vermont. And while Pecor invested hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money in the project, he also approached the Vermont State Legislature for help with the lofty cost of the refurbishing. The legislature came up with $800,000 in aid to UVM for the project as the plan was viewed as a win-win, aiding Pecor and the Vermont Expos, while refurbishing a tired, old park for UVM and, specifically, its baseball team.
Since then, the Vermont Expos, which was the former name of the Lake Monsters when their major league parent was the Montreal Expos, have become a wildly successful team. The club won the New York-Penn League crown in 1996 and although they have not resided on top of the standings since, the team has developed talent.
Vermont has sent 55 of its former players to the major leagues. The most recent player to reach the "Big Show" was star pitcher Jordan Zimmerman, who is anchoring the Washington Nationals starting rotation this summer.
The other thing it has done is consistently draw fans into the old ballpark.
With a full slate of promotions that showcases family entertainment and the excitable and beloved mascot "Champ" as its chief, albeit silent, pitchman, more than 1.65 million fans have streamed through the turnstiles since opening day in 1994. The team has consistently placed high in attendance, even when pitted against those from much larger metropolitan areas with spanking, new stadiums.
Yet all the while, Pecor knew that Centennial Field was only a stopgap measure.
Nestled in a neighborhood, there were restrictions on what Pecor and the club could do for promotions, which are the lifeblood of minor league ball. For example, he could not set off fireworks or host a postgame concert – two major drawing cards in minor league parks across the nation.
Pecor advanced the idea of building a new stadium on the waterfront, near his Lake Champlain Ferry business. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and then-Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle were behind the project but there were snags, the major one was that the desired land was leased to the Vermont Rail System.
Pecor and UVM officials talked about partnering on a joint venture to erect a stadium on other land owned by the university but that never got off the ground.
"The university said that they needed to find a major donor to help out," said Pecor. "But no one stepped forward and that killed that idea."
A year and a half ago, just before Pecor signed a new player development deal with Washington, a contingent from the St. Louis Cardinals came to town for a look-see. At one time, St. Louis had a Class-AA affiliate in Glens Falls and the Cardinals organization played an exhibition game at Centennial. The Cardinals loved the Burlington area and thought that maybe this was an opportunity to put an affiliate here.
"They were excited about the possibility of coming here but came and looked at the field and said it was a nonevent," Pecor said. "Heck, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, they are building parks without a team. They have independent league teams using them."
Meanwhile, the Lake Monsters have embarked on their 38-game home schedule and life goes on at the ballpark.
"We have to worry about today before we can think about tomorrow," said CJ Knudsen, who is in his ninth season as Lake Monster general manager. "We've got to let people know that there are still a lot of home games and a lot of family fun to be had."
Knudsen clicked off some what is happening. Former Red Sox player Bill Buckner will be at the park Monday for autographs, kids eat free on Thursday, and there is a gasoline giveaway each Monday.
"Where else can you buy a ticket for your kid for $5 and let him shake hands with Sponge Bob?" Knudsen asked.
Yet, what can be done at this point to keep the Lake Monsters in town?
It's difficult for Pecor to believe that Major League Baseball will let him continue to stall.
And Pecor truly believes that Centennial is not the answer.
"Look at it, there are fans there sitting on cement steps – they don't even have seats," Pecor said. "But the real problem is trying to get a facility built where these professional players can play."
Even if Pecor found a suitable site, how many years would it take to get the stadium built?
"How long will it take to get permits, or design, or financing? Pecor said. "Let's be realistic; it's a big project and it will take time."
Time that is quickly running out for the Vermont Lake Monsters and still, the phone is not ringing.
Chuck.clarino@rutlandherald.com
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