Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 53

DIP The Arizona Republic Friday, November 17, 1995 BALLPARK TIMELINE TEAM AND LAND ACQUISITION D-Backs' opener only 891 days off GMs may propose, to scale way back i on minor leagues Feb. 17, 1994 Memorandum of understanding signed by the potential major-league baseball franchise and the tylaricopa County Stadium District. June 17, 1994 Stadium site-selection process completed. March 9, 1995 Franchise is acquired. Nov.

10, 1995 Basic condemnation process is completed, pending appeals and agreement on price of land. STADIUM DESIGN June 1 7, 1 994 Architect selection. Nov. 28, 1994 Conceptual design completed. Feb.

17, 1995 Schematic design completed. July 24, 1995 Design development completed. Aug. 24, 1995 Mass excavation package completed. Nov.

1 7, 1 995 Foundationhigh-steel package to be completed, i March 7, 1996 General building package to be completed. July 25, 1996 Tenant preparation package (interior walls, ceilings) to be completed. Sept. 19, 1996 Seatsfieldscoreboard package to be completed. Dec.

19, 1996 Site work package to be completed. SITE PREPARATION grand finale a fireworks display. Serving as an outfield backdrop was a large white scoreboard that listed how many days left until Opening Day 892 on Thursday. Symington called the event a great start and said the state will benefit from the hundreds of millions of dollars that are projected as the result of the team's arrival and construction of the stadium. Most of the land on the 22 'i -acre site has been cleared and some excavation has begun.

Construction is1 due to begin in about a week. Colangelo thanked the community for its support, "the thousands who stepped up to the plate and said, 'Count me I think Phoenix is destined to be a great baseball town." Because $238 million of the stadium's estimated cost of $280 million will come from a quarter-cent Maricopa County sales tax approved by the Maricopa County Stadium District in 1994, some people are saying "count me out," even though the tax will end early in 1998. One of those, Bruce Bateman of Phoenix, held a cardboard sign outside the rear stairwell of a nearby parking garage, where an invitation-only hamburger and hot-dog meal was held on the roof before the event. The sign read, "Taxpayers Voted Stadium Down." It referred to tax-funded stadium projects that were voted down on previous occasions. "There are several thousand others like me out there," Bateman said.

"I'm not anti-baseball, but I don't like being forced to pay for a stadium with July 14, 1995 Utility design completed. July 20, 1995 Utility permitsbids completed. Nov. 10, 1995 Utility relocation completed. Nov.

20, 1995 General demolition to be completed. Dec. 21, 1995 Environmentalcultural concerns to be completed. STADIUM CONSTRUCTION Feb. 15, 1996 Mass excavation to be completed.

April 30, 1996 Foundationshigh steel to be completed. Jan. 1, 1998 Seatsfieldscoreboard package to be completed. March 3, 1998 General building package, tenant preparation, concessions and basic exterior site work to be completed. force a vote on the tax and make team investors foot the construction bill.

"I don't know why they didn't invite me," Kaufman said. He said 400 people are circulating petitions at libraries with the hopes of getting 1 1 3,000 signatures to put the issue on next year's ballot. MACKS', from page Dl many of the good seats around the makeshift natural-turf baseball diamond on the ballpark site at the corner of Seventh and Jefferson streets. The rest of the fans about 350, according to a police estimate stood on the fringes, craning their necks to catch a glimpse. Once the facility is completed, however, there should be enough room for everyone to enjoy the game that leads children to snow-cone mustaches and adults to pangs of nostalgia.

The ballpark will seat about 48,500. The team already has received 44,000 deposits for season tickets. Fans munched popcorn, Cracker Jack, ate cotton candy and sipped soft drinks provided by the Diamondbacks (the team paid for the entire evening but would not divulge how much). Jets departing Sky Harbor International Airport gave the site a feel of the Shea Stadium-National League expansion New York Mets in 1962. Fans attempted to hear speeches from Gov.

Fife Symington, Maricopa County Stadium District board member Mary Rose Wilcox, Bank One Senior Vice President Steve Roman and Diamondbacks Managing General Partner Jerry Colangelo. They saw team officials including newly hired Manager Buck Showalter turn over dirt near home plate with shiny silver shovels. They sang the traditional Take Me Out To The Bull Game with a Harry Caray impersonator. They also saw two Little League teams play and the Valley fight still in limbo VALLEY, from page Dl been negotiating with King aide Sterling MacPherson for a Carbajul title shot on the proposed Jan. 27 card on the eve of Super Bowl XXX.

Carbajal would fight Mexican Mel-chor Cob Castro for the vacant International Boxing Federation's junior-flyweight title, which was stripped from Thailand's Saman Sor-jaturong for not making a mandatory defense. If Carbajal won, he would be obligated to King for a series of title defenses, Miranda said. Friedman said he also has had discussions with MacPherson and King's corporate attorney, Charles Lcmax. Friedman said he is uncertain whether negotiations would continue in the event of a King conviction. The 64-year-old promoter faces a maximum 45 years in prison and a ir" GMs, from page Dl 50 lower-level, minor-league teams in North America.

It could save major-league teams, however, a projected $35 million annually in operating expenses, one official said. Baseball executives were meeting in Scottsdale this week to devise, among other things, a "concrete proposal" to take to ownership for a possible vote on the subject within the next month or so. Also being discussed was a proposal to significantly reduce the number of rounds in the June amateur draft. With a purge of minor-league teams, the draft, which at times has reached 80-plus rounds, could be limited to 50 rounds or as few as 10. "The whole area of scouting and player development is being examined with an eye to seeing whether we can do this the most cost-effective way, but still be true to the goal of developing major-league players," Diamondbacks General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr.

said. "Generally, it's discussion to look at the way the minor leagues are structured now and ask, 'Does that make the most Garagiola declined further specific comment, but other officials assembled in the Valley, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said mass reductions need to be made for baseball to thrive. "We're spending way too much money across the board in places we don't need to be," one American League general manager said Wednesday after a break in meetings at the Scottsdale Princess Resort. "Just because we've been doing it this way for 100 years doesn't make it right." "There's no reason why we can't go with only four minor-league teams per club," another AL executive said. "I'm almost positive that's the way it's going to be by '98." Baseball has talked about downsizing its player-development system for the past few years.

But now, because of the millions being spent on free agency, the millions being lost each year by many clubs, and the sport's ongoing labor woes, officials say it is prime time to act. Now or never "It's now or never if you ask me," one National League executive said. Detroit Tigers General Manager Randy Smith wouldn't comment on the proposal other than to say, "We're trying to come up with the most effective way to run business." After meeting in three separate groups for the past three days, the general managers will get together today, when the meetings conclude here, to decide on the package they plan to present to ownership. A vote could be forwarded to Major League Baseball's executive council by mid-January. The downsizing of the minor-league system might look like a home run to the owners, but it sounds more like a strikeout to St.

Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa. "The lifeblood of any major-league club is the development of players," La Russa said, "and the more opportunities you have to do that, the more players' you can attract into the sport and the better that sport is going to be. "So, if they're starting to talk about eliminating minor-league play, it sounds to me like we're totally going in the wrong direction. We ought to expand and make more opportunities-; for more guys who are thinking professional baseball as a vocation, i "I just don't like the sound of it. Scouting and developing players is tbirw heart and soul of the game, obviously I don't think we should be, oa cutting it.

I'm totally against that." If teams decide to go with only minor-league affiliates, which seems tQ be the prevailing choice, the clubs likely will keep two entry-level posts, such as one Rookie team and one Class-A team, and then nl a revamped and modified version of both a Double-A and Triple-A affili-t 7 or 8 affiliates 7" Most clubs, such as the California Angels, for example, have seven or eight affiliates. The Angels had seven last season: a Triple-A team Vancouver, B.C., a Double-A team in Midland, Texas, three Class-A teams, in Lake Elsinore, Cedar ids, and Boise, Idaho; a Rookie League team in Mesa and in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican, Republic. Triple-A clubs, such as the Fire-- birds and Tucson Toros who play in the Pacific Coast League, wouldn't i in danger of becoming extinct, al-t though the Firebirds must relocate to, another city before the begin play because of territorial rights, held by Major League Baseball. Jlt But Triple-A teams won't necessar-ily look the same anymore. They likely will resemble Double-A clubs in terms of talent, featuring more younger prospects instead of still trying to get to The Show.

"Triple-A ball has become more pf a 'spare-parts' league," one officiaJL Hj said. "It's no secret that the real prospects usually are down in ble-A. There are exceptions, of course, iu but most of your Triple-A guys have been around for a number of years. and they're insurance-policy guys guys who are there, basically, in case the big-league team has an injury." Many of those jobs could be in peril, the official said, as teams look tq bring along prospects at a quicker pace. Little recourse There isn't much recourse for career minor-league player to either, should he lose his job in the.

proposed purge. Minor-league players don't have a union and considered part of the Major League, Players Association. ai. Managers and coaches also could ji find themselves unemployed, although the better ones probably would be retained in some capacity. "That probably is the hardest part of this whole thing as anything, there is the human element," Gara: giola said.

"If you scale back clubs and you scale back jobs, you're going, to lose some people. But I'm confident that good people will always be able to get work." But what about the small, minor- league markets, which remain a', source of community pride? Firebirds', i General Manager Craig Pletenik said he worries about the fateful path. baseball appears bent on taking. "It's a great fear," Pletenik sai4ViW "A lot of these minor-league town have a great thing going. They've builtyj shiny new stadiums.

For them to be shut down would be a great disservice to a lot of great cities who have been keeping the flame of baseball alive." a tax gun pointed at my head." He was upset because he was not allowed to stand where most of the people were congregating along Jefferson. "Instead, I'm back here, with all the sewer gas," he said. Meanwhile, Phoenix businessman Art Kaufman is staging a campaign to Productions on behalf of Fife Symington. Symington's staff has suggested a fight card as a way to involve the Valley's Mexican-American community in the events during Super Bowl week. Negotiations for at least two title fights have fallen apart on Carbajal during the past year.

"It's been disappointing, but it'll happen," he said in a tiny a dressing room full of friends and family from his Ninth Street neighborhood. Undercard Carbajal capped of a night that was successful for his Ninth Street Gym stable. In a comeback bout, 37-year- old Ruben Castillo (69-7-2, 37 KOs) won a split decision over Mexican Paco Cuesta (30-10-1, 23 KOs). Castillo, a former lightweight con j-p? srr Anders KrusbergAssociated Press Unexpected decisions seem to follow boxers promoted by Don King, but Thursday's court decisions at his insurance-fraud trial had even King smiling as he departed the New York courtroom. Carbajal scores big KO over journeyman "If I was told that Don King Productions was separate business entity, then we could go ahead," Friedman said.

He added that the proposed bout would also provide money for the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund. tender and ringside commentator for The Forum in Los Angeles, put on an entertaining show. He danced a few steps, smiled and served as a cheerleader as he aslso threw and ducked punches. Another George Foreman. "Don't know about that," said Castillo, who lost closely contested bout to Alexis Arquello and the late Salvador Sanchez in the mid-1980s.

"George is a little old, you know. "Wasn't George a busboy at the Last Supper? "I'm not that old. I can still fight a little bit." Joke a little bit, too. $2.5 million fine if convicted on nine counts of defrauding Lloyd's of London. "I would have to go to the governor's office and ask for an opinion on that," said Friedman, who has been negotiating with Don King junior flyweight.

He also would like to one day fight at 115, junior bantamweight. There are only a couple of big names left for him at 108. And there's never any certainty that either Ricardo Lopez and Saman Sojuturong ever will agree to fight him. "I believe that I'll accomplish a lot more in my career before I'm done," said Carbajal, who returned to the arena where he won his first major title, the International Boxing Federation's championship, in 1990. "All I can do now is stay ready." That's not always been easy.

CARBAJAL from page Dl a small, but lively crowd. "I just wanted to take my time and not let him lure me in. "I'm feel good. I'm real focused right now. "I just wish I was a heavyweight." Heavyweights, any kind of heavyweight, get all the title shots these days, of course.

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