Crane: next talks in Jan re AAA team to Houston area

http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastro...ss-aaa-team-to-houston-area/?cmpid=sportshcat

Crane: Next talks in January on getting Class AAA team to Houston area

While the Astros sort out their plans for a new spring training site in Florida, there remains a parallel hope to build a new park in the Houston area for their Class AAA team.

Astros owner Jim Crane said that he expects to again talk to the development company that purchased Camp Strake, a site near Conroe, once the new year arrives.

“That’s still preliminary,” Crane said. “(The Johnson Development Corp.) doesn’t close on it until the end of the year. We think we’ll talk to them again in January to see if that’s a viable option and see what the cost of that would be. We’d like to get a AAA team closer to us.”

Houston’s Class AAA team currently plays in Oklahoma City, and the Astros have an agreement with Oklahoma City through 2014. Minor-league ownership and franchise agreements are separate deals. For the Astros to move a team to The Woodlands area, the club must first buy a franchise. The Class AAA New Orleans Zephyrs have been reported as possible target for the Astros to acquire.

Having a Class AAA team in close proximity makes the logistics of player movement easier, and it too can help acclimate players to the major-league environment they may eventually play in.

“If we can get something closer that’s not too close — the (Sugarland) Skeeters was at one time presented to the team before I got there and that was a little too close,” Crane said. “This location is 41 miles (north), so we think it’s out far enough. And it does have some appeal because your players are close. Your scouts are close. … It makes it a lot more efficient.”

If a deal were to be struck when Johnson Development takes control of the property, Crane estimated that it would take 18 months to two years to make the move happen.

“Three years max or it won’t get done,” Crane said. “There’ll be a deal struck fairly soon or there won’t be.”

 

I think winning expands the fan base. The Rangers have most certainly expanded their fan base, and their AAA team is in Frisco.

 

classic