This article from the E-ville Courier also reflects on the nature of "small time" baseball, in particular, the Frontier League Otters...boy have things changed since the '70 Bert Blyleven-led AAA Twins minor league franchise in the Pocket City...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jul/02/more-than-a-night-at-the-ballpark/
I LOVE the marketing idea of lawn chairs & lounging on the OF warning track, but Bosse Field is considerably larger than Warn Field...and yes, there are the ground rule logistics of such a move (couldn't be any worse than Tampa Bay, though!).
I agree w/ Golden (finally), that baseball fills a Summer "cultural" void in Terre Haute, given that the Sycamores schedule takes a break during this time period. It also bonds HISTORY, as TH has had a strong lineage with baseball through the years. The almost 900/night avg attendance is EXCELLENT, and I'm sure things will continue to improve. Thanks to Clabber Girl and other sponsors that have stepped up to the plate on this concept.
When deep-shaft coal mining was such an integral part of the Wabash Valley during the pre-1950 years, virtually every family Summer weekend was structured around the social nature of BASEBALL. My grandpa, a Viking Mine employee, also managed the Black Hawk Braves back then. Otter Creek, once a thriving NTH metropolis, once had a baseball field/swimming hole @ the NW corner of Lafayette & Park Ave...yes, one of Three-Finger Mordecai Brown's grooming areas.
As mining changed during the early 60's following major disasters...Green Valley & Viking closed. No more Miner's Picnic (which rivaled the Vigo County Fair in popularity) - or baseball, as the # of employees dropped dramatically, which also put a serious void on the TH economy, which has been slow to resurrect. Good to see things returning to "normal."
