This morning we headed to Midland to see the Loons, who recently located to Midland after calling Battle Creek, MI their home for the past decade. Apparently the team (then known as the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays) had such a hard time getting people to the ballpark. At one time they even tried giving $1 to every person who attended the game one night, but it had little effect on attendance numbers. What is interesting about this team is that they are now owned by a non-profit—The Michigan Baseball Foundation. The MBF moved the team to Midland and constructed a $28 million dollar new stadium with the help of none other than famed sports complex architects, HOK. Operating as a non-profit, any profits the team has at the end of the year will be redistributed to the local community in the form of grants and other kinds of donations.

The Loons stadium, Dow Diamond, just opened last month and is designed nicely to accommodate all different types of fans. It’s got all the bells and whistles you would expect from a brand new stadium, plus a few extras (for example, LCD tvs in the concession areas.) Similar to the Montgomery Biscuits ballpark, there is a 360 degree concourse with multiple grass areas to sit with lawn chairs or blankets. The playground in right field was packed all game due to the fact it was an Education Day. The power of 3,000 screaming kids did not help the Loons, as they fell to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.



That night, we traveled back down to Lansing to see the Lugnuts. Oldsmobile Park was built a decade ago, but there have been a few improvements this past off season that has helped spruce up the look of the park. The crowd was a bit small, but then again it was a Monday night in Lansing. Thanks to Justin for getting us a table and items for our online auction. Chris and I participated in our first ever double potato sack race, and we were crushed by two local characters (see picture above) who talked a big game and then easily defeated us during the race. Unfortunately video does not exist because Chris’ camera battery was dead, and I think it was for the best. It was quite the embarrassing spectacle. In addition to our two potato sack racing comrades, we also met Robbie, who is a Granger guy at Oldsmobile Park. While he is in charge of maintaining the upkeep of the stadium, Robbie belts out tunes as he walks around. You can hear his voice echoing throughout the stadium during the course of the game. Here he is doing a short promo for our website.