I was hoping for a few games at Centenary and Grambling
I was hoping for a few games at Centenary and Grambling
''Don't be a bad dagh..."
Too bad Shreveport didn't/couldn't keep Fairgrounds Field playable.
Looking just at home conference series here is what I've found.
I'm sure the field conditions at Grambling had something to do with us not playing there, but they are away every time we are home. I'm guessing SWAC/C-USA might have originally planned on us playing there.
We could have even played a series or two at ETBU in Marshall or Louisiana College in Pineville.
3/13 MTSU * Jackson, MS 6:00 pm Smith-Wills Stadium Grambling Away
Centenary Home
ETBU Away
Louisiana Home3/27 FAU * Monroe, LA 6:00 pm ULM Grambling Away
Centenary Home
ETBU Home
Louisiana Away4/10 Rice * Jackson, MS 6:00 pm Smith-Wills StadiumGrambling Away
Centenary Home
ETBU Away
Louisiana Home4/24 ODU * Jackson, MS 6:00 pm Smith-Wills StadiumGrambling Away
Centenary Away
ETBU Home
Louisiana Home5/14 FIU * Monroe, LA6:00 pm ULM
Grambling - Reg Season Over
Centenary - Reg Season Over
ETBU - Reg Season Over
Louisiana - Reg Season Over
Job growth is for somebody else:.
https://710keel.com/shreveport-loses-nearly-3000-jobs/
But why fault market cycles, or even read the article, when there's a chance to show off your pathological obsession with politics in a sports thread AGAIN?Pierson says part of the problem is the downsizing after the Haynesville Shale. He says changes are taking place at Barksdale. He says we lost jobs at Continental Express when they lost their contract.
Get pissed about it all you want, but facts are facts.
https://www.bls.gov/regions/southwes...sfortworth.htm
I can't believe we're playing 9 games in Jackson, MS. WTH? Are you guys telling me that between LSUS, Centenary College, Grambling and ULM/NLU, we couldn't find an NCAA regulation field in north Louisiana to play these 9 games on?
I didn't realize north Louisiana just doesn't need the business and tax revenue from hotel, restaurant, car rental and travel business from the traveling fans and teams. I'm sure the state of Mississippi is very grateful for Tech's generosity.
It's stuff like this that makes you question damn near everything our leadership does. This was a golden opportunity to move some legit college baseball games to the Shreveport-Bossier area, and possibly pick up new marketshare by spreading the word about Tech baseball to a larger media market, expose our game to new recruits, meet HS coaches, etc....
We could have built a lot of excitement around playing in S-B this season:
"DON'T MISS TECH BASEBALL 2020! COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU!"
"Buy your 9-game season ticket package NOW!"
We could've hosted a "High School Night", and let local high schoolers in one or 2 of the games for free. Or something like that.
We've had almost a year to get this done, so there's been plenty of runway. Shipping 9 home games out-of-state seems silly to me, and even worse, a lost opportunity to spread your message and excitement to more north Louisiana markets. Honestly, sometimes Tech is its own worst enemy.
What's the condition of Shreveport Fairgrounds Field?
There is a group (Play Ball Shreveport) that has been trying to lease the property and pay for the repairs needed. The main problem, as mentioned above is the bats. They planned to remove the bats humanely (don't remember how), and then seal up the areas they've made home. Also, the bat droppings are extremely dangerous, which is another expensive cleanup.
They wanted to use the field for youth baseball, soccer, etc.