Cubs AA makes new home near Knoxsville

[Bob Sacamento]

Well I'm a little late to report the move of the West Tennessee DiamondJaxx to Knoxville (really it's Sevierville), Tennessee. It ended a nine year run between the DiamondJaxx and the Chicago Cubs and behind the scenes it's a pretty hairy situation. The DiamondJaxx owner, Bob Lozinak, has threatened to move the team for the past few years. Just this past offseason, Lozinak came close to selling the DiamondJaxx to a group from Orlando, Florida who wanted to move the club to ya guessed it, the Orlando area. The deal fell apart much like it had the year before. Lozinak decided to keep his team despite losing close to a half million dollars the last three years in Jackson, Tennessee. But reports are again surfacing that Lozinak has agreed to sell the team to the same investing group based in Orlando that has attempted to purchase the team for the past three years.

The Jaxx were in a poor situation, not only were they close to two accomplished AAA teams in Memphis (Cardinals) and Nashville (Brewers) but the city of Jackson never really supported baseball or the team. After the grand opening of Pringles Park in 1998, attendance had gone down dramatically. To the point now where Pringles Park is constantly one of the of the lowest draws in all of AA despite a good product being placed on the field. For the last two years, the Jaxx have been good on the field, winning their division in 2005 but no one has been in the stands, marking last place attendance figures in the Southern League in consecutive years. In 2005, the Jax drew 105,800 fans (1,556 per game). The Jaxx poor fan following still showed in 2006 despite increased promotional gimmicks, drawing just 95,486 fans (1,404 per game), the lowest attendance in the Southern League. The next closest, Huntsville (Alabama) drew nearly 1,000 fans more per game. And anytime you draw less than 3,000 fans per game, then the owners have to start dipping into their own pocket.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Tennessee Smokies located in the mountains near Knoxsville, Tennessee, have a strong fan base that supports the product as seen in their high attendance figures despite the team on the field. This year the Smokies were 4th in attendance figures, drawing 255,906 fans or 3,763 fans per game. The Smokies saw this as a great opportunity to not only increase their already high park numbers but increase their promotions as several top Cub players had put in rehab stints for the DiamondJaxx the past few years.

The Cubs who had been working with Lozinak, just finished out a four year agreement, decided this was the perfect time to bail out. The DiamondJaxx just don't draw the fans for the Cubs liking, and Chicago really wanted to avoid the drama that is following the Lozinak financial woes. So the Cubs were willing to move to the opposite side of the state, even if it meant that fans from Illinois will have to travel an additional six hours to watch the AA team. At least with flight times, a rookie prospect in AA can make it to Chicago in 90 minutes via a direct flight.

You can bet the departure of the Cubs affiliation with the West Tennessee DiamondJaxx tempted owner Bob Lozinak to sell his team even more as he's financial obligated to stay in Jackson. Just before the 2006 season, Bob Lozinak signed a three year extension with the City of Jackson to keep the team there through the 2008 season. It involved penalties that called for $500,000 if the team left after the 2006 season or a $250,000 penalty after the 2007 season. But the contract held a stipulation that if Lozinak lost "considerable amounts of monies" after the 2006 season, he could move the team without fine. Unfortunately for Lozinak he lost money but not enough to move out without penalty.

If I was still living in my hometown of Springfield, IL, I'd be pretty pissed as I made frequent trips to Pringles Park the past few years but being out here in the Pacific Northwest, it really doesn't affect me anymore. My Cubby friends from back home who also made trips were outraged when I recently talked to them. Trying to comfort them, I told them at least they can make a weekend out of and enjoy the scenery.

In an odd turn of events it appears that the West Tennessee DiamondJaxx will be the new AA home for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who just finished a two year run as the Tennessee Smokies. Before the dBacks affiliation, the Smokies were with the Cardinals from 2003-2005, but were a long stay for the Blue Jays from 1981-2002. The Cubs hope to be in Sevierville for a long time.


The park was built in 2000, just two years younger than the former home of Pringles Park in Jackson and seats 6,400 fans. The dimensions are your stand 330 down the lines and 400 to straight away center. The park is built on a hillside, with a KOA campground above it, so if you were lucky enough, one can actually watch a game for free while there camping (you'll save on lodging). There is an oddity with the minor league park though, there is a parking fee of $3 and the tickets are a little higher than most parks in the area, but that's probably to help the taxpayers recoup some of the 19 million they sunk into the complex. It's a nice stadium, and I suggest everyone within the area to make it to as many games as possible. Go Smokies!!!

[General]

Bro, you gotta stop dropping off the face of the earth. I enjoy reading your posts, so make more!

[redsrbetter]

Bro, you gotta stop dropping off the face of the earth. I enjoy reading your posts, so make more!

Agreed. Its a real nice post and I apologize that it took me a while to respond. I get excited about minor league teams as well. Sometimes when I feel the Reds are playing horrible, I turn to the Lookouts or the Dragons to get inspired about the Reds' future.