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9-06-2007 The two letters in the Crier last week from players who participate in Legends of Baseball tournaments, complaining about the increased fee for Doubleday Field, deserve an answer. For those residents and businesses who were not at the April 2007 Trustees meeting, this answe r will provide information. There are so few revenue streams the Village of Cooperstown can control; Doubleday Field rentals are one. Tournaments, as opposed to single game users, have, over the years, monopolized a huge chunk of games that are booked for the field. Tournaments also charge fees to their players, and many businesses have been created using the Village's field as their selling point. It is crucial to find out the market value of the field so we are not subsidizing these businesses. We on the Doubleday Field Committee, followed by the entire Board of Trustees and Mayor, agreed unanimously to raise the multiple game fees from $400 to $1,000 per game as a way to potentially increase revenues to benefit the Village. The Village receives approximately 1,700 applications for the 350-400 games allotted. There is a waiting list of people who have not been able to get into Doubleday Field to play due to the blocking out of weeks at a time by tournaments. If some tournaments decided not to play here, they would be replaced by new people itching to come to Cooperstown. These people would not be bringing up their own food and their own souvenirs. These same people will shop at our local stores and restaurants. They will spend their money here, just as tournament players do. While this action to increase the fee was done with all the tournaments in mind, the two letters in last week's Crier were written specifically on behalf of Legends of Baseball. A few words on Legends are in order. According to their website, Legends charges $450-$495 per player, and they have told us they get around 375 players each season. For the three tournaments they have per year, that is a gross of $170,000-$185,000, of which the Village receives between $18,000-$20,000. The fact that Legends provides prizes and banquets to their players is irrelevant to the Village's financial decision. As Thom Lach, head of Legends of Baseball, told the Doubleday Field Committee in August, he had for years tried to get past Village Boards to maximize the asset that is Doubleday Field. Now that we are attempting that, Legends has a problem as it interferes with their business. At the same Doubleday Field Committee meeting, I mentioned that the Field was owned by the Village. Thom Lach replied, "I thought the field was owned by baseball." Cooperstown is not a baseballowned theme park; it is a working Village of 2,000 yearround residents and various businesses. Its government needs to be more in charge of its financial picture for the benefit of all. Jeff Katz Village Trustee Chair, Doubleday Field Committee Fee change an insult Long before there was a Dreams Park to add to our economy, there were baseball groups like the Legends of Baseball, etc. They brought their families, came to us year after year, supported our economy in September after other tourists were gone and caused no problems. In addition, the Legends also donated items to Doubleday Field, like the scoreboard, fencing and a fund to preserve the field through sales of pavers. To single out baseball groups who have been coming here for nearly 20 years is indeed an insult to those families, and a $1,000 fee per game is uncalled for. We have been able to count on these people to sustain our tourism through good and bad years. If these groups leave, others using the field will still only generate $400 per game. To many of us who have seen them each year, they have become more than tourists or guests, they have become friends. To single them out for such a huge increase is an embarrassment to many of us, since it is discriminating as well. Further, there is a distinct difference between guests who come every year that we can count on, and the annual transient group who comes for one week and feels no connection to our Village at all, because it is basically a one-shot stay. Some things transcend money. Unfortunately, the bottom line in Cooperstown lately has become the "buck." I fully understand the Village's need to cover rising expenses, but let us be fair about how we achieve this economic goal. Lee Malone Cooperstown Malone is a former member of the Board of Trustees. How does it end? Is this supposed to be a war against the people of Iraq? If not, what are we doing there? According to the Human Rights Action Service, we may as well face the fact that a new escalation in "an existing but hidden air war" is developing virtually ignored by the media. Assaults from the air are notoriously inaccurate and savagely destructive of civilians. When the Air Force press releases revealed that 111,000 pounds of bombs were released on targets in Iraq in 2006, that figure does not even include munitions used by the Marines or by private security contractors (mercenaries) or by missiles, cannons, or rocket fire. According to a Lancet study, this air war has taken a terrible toll on Iraqi children especially, a fact we cannot morally dismiss as "collateral damage," as we would not if it were our children who were being destroyed. The number of U.S. and British air strikes on Iraq is increasing drastically. From the 25 strikes a month reported before August 2006, the number has risen to five a day. The fact that these figures from a June 14, 2007 Associated Press story was run by fewer than 20 U.S. newspapers accounts, in part, for the fact that it is, for most Americans, a "hidden air war." Is this human destruction what we Americans want? Is this what we mean when we speak of wanting to "finish the job"? Hilda M. Wilcox Cooperstown Revisit rate increase I understand that, the due to the Village's increase in rates to use the Cooperstown facilities, the cost of the Legends camp will increase more than $100 per person next year. If this increase holds, I do not expect to attend the camp in 2008, and may not return for several years for the reasons listed below. I suspect that there are many others like me. Thus, I believe that this unreasonable increase in rates will actually reduce the amount of revenue that the Village receives and will have a significant impact on local business revenues. The August 2007 camp was my second Legends camp. I had not played baseball for 40+ years when some friends talked me into going to the 2006 camp. And I decided to do it, in part, because I had never been to Cooperstown; and my friends told me how good a value the camp was. Thom Lach makes sure that every rookie gets an engraved bat (made in Cooperstown), everyone gets a participant gift, a reception, and a banquet. What I noticed this year is that there are two groups of participants - those that attend lots of baseball camps and include the Cooperstown Legends camp as part of their circuit; and those like me that have only ever been to the Cooperstown Legends camp. After the 2007 August Legends camp, I was talking to two of my teammates, who told me that I should attend next year's West Palm Beach camp. It is the same price as the 2007 Legends Camp, but that the facilities are much nicer (it's held at a MLB spring training facility), they wash your uniforms, you can stay close to all the fields, there are many more amenities right close by. They also talked about the relative value of the other camps. Because I am still working, I will only attend one camp in 2008. These competitors will sound more interesting to me, the higher the price of the Legends Camp gets. And I suspect that the other group of participants (the ones that go from camp to camp) may decide to bypass Cooperstown for a year for a better value elsewhere. Now that I've been to the Hall of Fame twice in two years, have played on the Cooperstown field for several games, I will competitively evaluate the value of the Legends experience against the competitors. And I'm sure others will too. This past year, we had a group of eight Legends participants work out together in Columbus, Ohio. I suspect that if one or more of us decide to do West Palm next year, many of us will go along. The cost of getting to Cooperstown and staying in Cooperstown is already high. I spent nearly $1,500 on my week in Cooperstown this year. It would seem to me that the value to the Village and its businesses of the 500 people that attend the Legends Camp every year and the philanthropic support that Legends has engendered would indicate that the Village should limit cost increases to ensure that this type of activity remains viable and remains in town. However, Thom Lach is a businessman with a love for the Village and what it represents. He hosts 100 games in the area, hires only Cooperstown umpires, purchases commemorative bats from the Cooperstown Bat Company, and provides a dinner and reception for each team. Legends started a foundation, Friends of Doubleday, which has raised thousands of dollars that has resulted in significant improvements to the first base entrance, and the creation of the paved plaza around the front of the field. This philanthropy has engendered additional giving, e.g., the flagpoles given by a Legends Camp participant and a set of tarps for the field. But, Thom is in a competitive environment. He will do what he needs to do to keep his business successful. And this increase will certainly affect the viability of his camps. I suspect that an objective re-evaluation of this issue would result in a moderation of the increase and the recognition that it is in the Village's best interest to provide better rates to larger volume purchasers of Village services. Joseph M. Towarnicky, Columbus, Ohio Can't have it both ways Shame on Cooperstown! You would be nothing without the tourists who bring so much revenue to your town. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Maybe better fiscal management is needed over expenditures for the village. Maybe you need to increase your tax base. Maybe some of the people who are tax exempt need to step up to the plate and pay taxes for their property just like everyone else. America is not supposed to be a dictatorship. Maria Madison Oneonta Soccer camp a success It is with great appreciation that I write this letter. The New York Power Authority has supported our area community youth through soccer for a record 22 consecutive years in partnership with the Headwaters Soccer Club. The generous contributions of the New York Power Authority leadership under Roger Kelley, President and C.E.O., along with support of multiple soccer fields and equipment, has allowed the Headwaters Soccer Club to continuously expand programming. And, special thanks to Steve Ramsey, NYPA's Community Relations Manager and his staff at the visitors center and Mine Kill State Park staff for all of their assistance. The Headwaters Soccer Club's camp series program enjoyed a record 1,024 participants in the summer of 2007. This success is a direct reflection of the continued excellence and support of the New York Power Authority family. The New York Power Authority's demonstrated and unwavering commitment to serving the surrounding communities has provided opportunities for youth and young adults that they would not normally be afforded. Thank you for your vision and dedication to today's and yesterday's area children. You have made a positive difference in thousands of lives. David Ranieri, Director Headwaters Soccer Club Support baseball Legends It was my privilege recently to travel from North Dakota to visit your wonderful Village of Cooperstown for the third summer in a row. Your enthusiastic and friendly people, the Baseball Hall of Fame, Fenimore Museum, Opera, Farmers' Museum, and great shops and restaurants all in your beautiful setting on Otsego Lake combine to make your village a wonderful destination for people from around the world. I first came to Cooperstown in 2005 to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and to experience the beauty of your village and surrounding area. Thanks to a friend who is a former major league catcher and who told me about the Legends of Baseball organization, I spent a week in Cooperstown in August of 2006 and again a few weeks ago to experience playing baseball at Doubleday Field and in your area. Now, it is the Legends of Baseball organization - more than anything else - that will keep me coming back for years to come! My major purpose in writing is to encourage your enthusiastic and full support for Columbus, Ohio-based Legends of Baseball and its CEO, Thom Lach. 2007 is the 15th year that the Legends of Baseball have held three one-week camps to enable people of all ages to experience playing baseball at Doubleday Field. Thom Lach's work has brought about 8,000 baseball players and their family members to Cooperstown for at least a week. The 500 or so players and family members who come each summer collectively contribute $400,000 to $500,000 annually to the Cooperstown economy. John Bullis of your Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce estimates that each dollar is spent 2.5 times - meaning that the Legends of Baseball has brought close to $20 million to Cooperstown in the past 15 years. Most important, all of us players and our families then fan out each year all over the United States and beyond as enthusiastic ambassadors for your village, its attractions, and your people. Thom Lach also gives much back to Cooperstown. Legends started a foundation, Friends of Doubleday, that has raised and contributed thousands of dollars for upgrading and maintaining that great facility. I'm thankful to the people of Cooperstown for the wonderful destination you have created and that you combine to maintain. And, I'm thankful to Thom Lach and the Legends of Baseball for an organization that will keep my family and me coming back. Mark Langemo Grand Forks, N.D. |
Copyright 2007, Cooperstown Crier, Cooperstown, NY All rights reserved