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 Oneonta Tigers moving to Norwich Conn.

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PostSubject: Oneonta Tigers moving to Norwich Conn.   Oneonta Tigers moving to Norwich Conn. Icon_minitimeFri Jan 29, 2010 6:03 pm

Oneonta Tigers moving to Norwich
New York-Penn team will play at Dodd Stadium in 2010
01/28/2010 1:16 PM ET
By Benjamin Hill / MLB.com

Oneonta Tigers moving to Norwich Conn. OhIXFlFK
Oneonta will play at Dodd Stadium, former home of the Defenders. (Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com)

NEW YORK -- Today it became official: the Oneonta Tigers will be relocating to Norwich, Conn., in time for the 2010 campaign.

The announcement marks the latest chapter in what has been a tumultuous offseason in Norwich. In September, the Eastern League's Connecticut Defenders announced they would be relocating to Richmond, Va., leaving a void in a well-regarded baseball market. Thanks to the New York-Penn League, a Class A Short Season circuit, that void has been filled.

The announcement was made at a news conference on Thursday afternoon, less than two weeks after the Norwich City Council approved the NYPL's lease agreement for Dodd Stadium. The lease is good for a 10-year term with three five-year options and starts at $100,000 per year.

"This was something that had been on the radar for about a year, but not something we were actively working on until late September," said New York-Penn League president Ben Hayes. "Norwich is a strong market with a high population density, with a stadium that offers great amenities. It will fit in well with the remainder of our league."

Oneonta had fielded a New York-Penn League team since 1966. After the 2008 campaign, longtime owners Sam Nader and Sid Levine sold the team to a group headed by attorney E. Miles Prentice. Hayes stressed that the decision to re-locate one of the league's flagship franchises was largely due to current economic realities.

"The league took the lead in negotiating the [Dodd Stadium] lease," said Hayes, who presides over a 14-team circuit that includes franchises in Brooklyn, Staten Island, Lowell (Mass.) and Burlington (Vt.). "There were three or four clubs that might have been interested [in re-locating], but Oneonta had the worst attendance, having drawn less than 40,000 last year. That, combined with the demographics of the county and the decline of the business environment, led me to present this opportunity to [the Tigers] first.

"This wasn't an easy decision, for the club or for the league," continued Hayes. "Oneonta has hosted a New York-Penn League club for the past four decades, and the Nader family has deep roots when it comes to the history of the league. The annual championship trophy is named after Sam Nader's wife, and the Executive of the Year Award is named after him."

When Nader and Levine sold the club in December of 2008, it was reported that the sale agreement stipulated that the team remain in Oneonta through the 2010 campaign.

"There was no prohibition on re-locating, although there is a penalty that has to be paid, and that's something we took into consideration," remarked Hayes.

But regardless of the deal's specifics, the club's front office now faces the daunting task of introducing the team to a new market in time for the New York-Penn League's Opening Day on June 18. Many key details remain to be determined, including what name the franchise will utilize in 2010 and beyond. Oneonta general manager Andrew Weber and assistant GM Eric Knighton are both making the move to Norwich. They will be joined by vice-president of operations CJ Knudsen, a respected league veteran who stepped down as general manager of the Vermont Lake Monsters in October.

"We've got a lot of challenges ahead of us, but we welcome them," said Weber. "That's one of the reasons we have CJ Knudsen on board; he's going to be an invaluable resource as we make this transition."

Through it all, the fledgling franchise will have one key goal in mind.

"[The New York-Penn League] is one of the premier leagues in all of Minor League Baseball, and we want our organization to be one of the premier organizations in the league," said Weber. "That's what we're going to be working toward.

Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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PostSubject: Re: Oneonta Tigers moving to Norwich Conn.   Oneonta Tigers moving to Norwich Conn. Icon_minitimeMon Feb 01, 2010 9:34 am

Published: January 29, 2010 07:51 am

Ownership likely to pay Sam and Sid for move

By Rob Centorani

Staff Writer

Apparently, breaking contracts comes at a cost.

When Oneonta Tigers principal owner E. Miles Prentice III signed the dotted line to purchase the Oneonta Tigers from Sam Nader and Sid Levine in December of 2008, he agreed to keep the team in Oneonta through at least the 2010 season.

Nader referred to it Wednesday as a "commitment to the community" clause.

Well, Prentice & Co., broke that clause with Thursday's announcement that the Tigers will play the home portion of their New York-Penn League schedule at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn., beginning this summer.

"(Breaking the agreement) will cost us," New York City lawyer Prentice said at City Hall in Norwich.

Prentice wouldn't say how much it would cost him.

"There was nothing that says if they break it, there's an out-clause," Nader said Thursday. "There's an item that reads if you do not fulfill the agreement, there is a penalty."

What's the penalty?

"I'm not going to tell you," said Nader, adding that he couldn't comment at the advice of his attorney. Nader also said he hoped the situation would come to a close quickly.

Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller said the commitment to the community clause has no impact on the city _ that it was strictly between Nader, Levine and Prentice's group.

Prentice also said Thursday that his group tried to keep the Tigers in Oneonta, but that economically, it was not going to work _ a statement Levine rejected.

"It didn't look like they did anything to try to get attendance," Levine said of a 2009 season that ended with the Tigers last in attendance in the 14-team NY-Penn at 23,521 _ a drop of more than 16,000 fans from the final year that Nader and Levine ran the team. "They acted like, if they come, fine.

"The (area) merchants were great for us," he continued. "We always had the program filled (with advertisements), the (outfield) fence filled (with advertisements) and we had promotional nights. We needed cash and that did it for us. We'd have 10 nights where we'd sell the ballpark (to area businesses) and make X number of dollars that could keep the thing afloat."

Nader agreed with Levine that the area businesses always supported the team _ be it the Red Sox (1966), Yankees (1967-98) or Tigers (1999-2009). Nader also said the people are also responsible for losing minor-league baseball.

"We always had first-rate support from the business community," Nader said. "The rank-and-file say they want baseball, but they don't want to pay to see it. They always say there's nothing to do in the community. Well, there's a lot of things to do if they're willing to support it."

Added Nader: "I think Oneonta was very fortunate to have (baseball) as long as they had it. I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a labor of love and there was a lot of labor in it, from the entire family."

Rob Centorani can be reached at rcentorani@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 209.
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