In baseball, there are shortstops and then there are short stops.
The Welland Jackfish reiterated at a news conference Monday they want to be known for the former, not remembered – and quickly forgotten – as the latest team that briefly called Welland Stadium home.
They would rather be celebrated for having a hot-hitting or slick-fielding middle infielder than joining the ranks of the Welland Aqua-Ducks, who only stayed for two years in the mid-1990s, and the Niagara Stars, who didn’t even make it through their inaugural season in 2003 before folding along with the rest of Canadian Baseball League.
To counter the here-today, gone-tomorrow history of baseball in Welland, the former Burlington Herd decided after their first season in Niagara they needed a long-term lease to begin making some history of their own.
“We realized early on why we wanted a long-term lease because, at the end of the 2019 season, we had fans coming up to us and saying, ‘Hey, are you guys back next year?’” Jackfish owner and president Ryan Harrison said in an interview.
He said the Jackfish decided they needed to “cement” their commitment to the community “so people see, ‘They’re not going anywhere, let’s buys tickets now, let’s buy merchandise now.’”
Announcing a six-year lease with the City of Welland for use of the 3,375-capacity ballpark was important for the team going forward. The lease, which allows the Jackfish to keep a percentage of advertising and sponsorship revenue, includes an option for an additional six years after it expires following the 2026 season.
“I hope by announcing this today that everybody in the city and the region knows we’re not going anywhere. We don’t want to be that that’s here for a shortish period of time,” Harrison said. Harrison said. “We’re not going to do that.“Our league has been around for a 100 years. It’s not going anywhere.”
Mayor Frank Campion expressed hope at the news conference that the team would put Welland on the baseball map by winning “many, many championships” over the duration of the lease.
“We are fortunate to have the Jackfish franchise in our city,” he said. “Our residents and visitors look forward to an outstanding 2021 baseball.”
The mayor called the lease a win-win and the lease a “super-solid commitment to our community.”
“We’re here for a good time, and a long time.”
Campion said in an interview that having a primary tenant will offset the cost of maintaining and operating a facility that was built in 1989 to house the Welland Pirates of the New York-Pennsylvania League. The Class A affiliate of the National League’s Pittsburgh Pirates relocated to Erie, Pa., following the 1994 season.
The long-term lease builds on upgrades the club and the municipality have made since the end of the 2019 season. Besides new paint throughout the stadium and the installation of Major League Baseball-quality dugout fencing, the infield and concessions were also upgraded.
Future capital upgrades include a new scoreboard and VIP group sections.
Also announced at the news conference was the team’s intention to literally give fans the shirts off their backs. Beginning in 2021, the Jackfish intend to rebrand themselves as the Welland Roses for one home game a season.
Harrison said the commemorative uniforms worn on the team’s annual City of Welland Day will be auctioned off after the game with proceeds going to local charities.
“We love the city that has taken us in with open arms and really want to celebrate everything that makes the Rose City special,” he said.
The IBL, which didn’t play last season for the first time since it was established in 1919, intends to play a regular schedule of 36 games beginning in early June, pending approval from the Ontario government and public health authorities.
Unlike the Toronto Maple Leafs who don’t charge admission and rely solely on sponsorships, the Jackfish are among the clubs in the eight-team league that needs fans to be viable.
“We’re looking for 300, that’s the minimum that we need to operate inside the stadium,” Harrison said. “We cannot play without fans, that’s not attainable for us.
“We will not have a season if we can’t play without fans.”
However, the Jackfish would still host community events, such as a youth baseball camp, Yoga in the Field and a cornhole tournament, just as the team did last year when COVID-19 cancelled the entire season.
“We’re not going anywhere. We’re a healthy franchise.”
