Loss of Lynx may affect more than fans

By Lindsay Tate

The Ottawa Lynx could be moving following the 2007 baseball season and supporters say if they go, they will be leaving behind more than an empty stadium. The city would also lose community programs that allows children and adults to come face to face with big league ballplayers.

“It will be a sad day to see the Lynx go,” says Phil Nicholson, president of Glebe Little League. “The organization is so community focused and it gives young players a more direct connection to the baseball world than even the major leagues do.”

The move is pending after International League governors approved in August the conditional sale of the triple-A baseball club from current owner, Ray Pecor, to an interest in Allentown, Pa.

If all conditions of the sale are met by November of next year, the Lynx will be headed south, league president Randy Mobley said in an interview from Dublin, Ohio.

Mobley said the Ottawa club asked the league to consider the sale because of low attendance.

“Ottawa is a fantastic city, but I just don’t think there are an adequate number of triple-A baseball fans and I don’t see any reason to be optimistic that will change.”

The team had the lowest attendance in the league last season, averaging only 1,915 fans per game, according to Ottawa Lynx spokesperson, Riley Denver. The Lynx’ stadium can seat 10,000 people.

Denver says the team will remain in Ottawa for the 2007 season; after that, he couldn’t comment.

“At this point, the team hasn’t been sold. Our owner, Mr. Ray Pecor, still owns 100 per cent of the Ottawa Lynx and we’re planning for next season as if nothing is happening.”

This includes continuing community initiatives like the RBI (Reading Builds Imagination) program, which promotes reading by providing participating youth with free baseball tickets. The team also offers baseball and umpire clinics for members of the Junior Lynx fan club as well as for Ottawa little leaguers and volunteers.

Nicholson says the community will really miss these types of programs if the team leaves.

“The Lynx have been tremendously supportive of little league and the Ottawa baseball community,” Nicholson says. “The clinics they’ve held have been great. We’re talking about coaching and support, direct interaction several times a season.”

The team has also helped little league fundraise by coordinating 50-50 raffles at the stadium, says Nicholson.

In addition, the triple-A level allows young players to get close to the athletes.

“They have a chance to go down and see the game and then talk to the players over the railings and that can be inspiring,” says Nicholson.

Other fans also say they would miss heading down to the ballpark.

Patti Mordasewicz, president of Cat’s Pride, the Ottawa Lynx booster club says it is unfortunate to see the team in this position.

She remembers how exciting it was to see the stadium filled with fans when the team first came to Ottawa in 1993.

“I think it’s a sad commentary that people don’t support the activities that they have because they’ll be sad when they’re gone,” says Mordasewicz. “It’s not the fault of the ball club or the product on the field, but of the people who failed to support it.”

But Mordasewicz is optimistic that the team’s move doesn’t necessarily mean the end of baseball in Ottawa. “There’s still all the little league and recreational teams, and maybe we need to look at attracting a single-A or independent league team if we can’t support a team at the triple-A level.”