WELCOME AND TODAY'S INSIGHT

Welcome to Rahr Insight, a blog dedicated to Boise Hawks fans and interested parties following the project we are dubbing the Treasure Valley Sports and Entertainment Complex project.  My goal is to give you insights on the Boise Hawks operation focusing mainly on the business aspects of the team.  As many of you have been hearing about, the potential multi-use stadium that is being discussed in Boise and Meridian relates directly to the Boise Hawks and I want to give you information, create discussions and have you "join the ride".  I look forward to comments from readers of this blog and hope that I can shed light on not only potential facilities but why we do some of the things we do with the Boise Hawks.  So let's get started!

There has been much in the news lately about this new stadium thing.  Many of the reports indicate things that I would like to respond to and it would be appropriate to list some of them and then give you my comments.  Here are the main things that I want to talk about:

This will be a Boise Hawks stadium:  The Boise Hawks play 38 home games per season leaving Memorial Stadium open for 327 other days during the year without a tenant to use the facility.  We contract on approximately another 10-15 dates and run non-Hawks events like FanFest and Blues, Brews and BBQs as well.  In the Treasure Valley Sports and Entertainment Complex the Boise Hawks would be the main tenant but would not be the only one.  The feasibility study that the Hawks commissioned and paid for includes professional soccer, high school sports, tournaments, concerts and an open-air ice rink.  A prospective calendar was put together that showed a potential 166 days of use for the facility!  That doesn't even include other things like festivals, car shows, high school graduations, or even an outdoor prom.  Wherever this stadium is built the Boise Hawks will be a big part of it in terms of the sheer amount of people that can be drawn to games.  However, the Hawks will be just a part of it.

The Hawks are pitting Boise against Meridian:  This project isn't just something that was whipped together in the last 6-8 months, it has been an on-going dialogue with both cities for that last 4-5 years.  As we look forward to the next 30-50 years of Boise Hawks baseball we needed to have a plan to address our facility.  Whether we had a brand spanking new one or one that was 16 years old (at the time we started this), you need to keep the future in mind and how your facility ties into your business plan.  Simultaneously we had some casual discussions with some friends in both Boise and Meridian and there became an idea of a new facility in the Treasure Valley.  Heck, we talked with Garden City and Nampa as well.  In all of these discussions we focused on each city's redevelopment plans.  In Meridian, what is now Destination Downtown and that vision was shared with us.  In Boise, Nampa and Garden City we had the same type of discussions.  It became apparent that there might be an opportune time to explore a new facility as Boise and Meridian especially were looking toward the next 50 years.  So to say that Meridian is trying to steal the Hawks from Boise or that we are pitting each city against the other is simply a ridiculous statement!  Both cities are trying to better their city for their residents and it just so happens that they are both doing it at the same time and a stadium project fits very nicely with both.  To keep all options open for the team we have been working with both, trying to advise them on how we see the Hawks and potential other events being a part of a project and, this is important, we have had complete disclosure with both cities ever since we started talking.  Both cities have been very gracious and understand our position but have also realized that this project could be a great project for the greater good of the Treasure Valley.  Certainly, if this project happens it will be located in one of those cities and one of those cities will not have it.  There is some competitive spirit and all that does is help this region.

The Hawks are holding this over the heads of these cities so they can get AAA baseball:  I'm going to write a whole different blog on AAA baseball soon, but in response to this I can tell you that this is not true.  We have been very upfront that the Treasure Valley could eventually be a great AAA market, but it is not ready for that level yet.  Why?  Most AAA teams play in cities much, much bigger than this area.  The business base is bigger as well.  Eventually growth in this market will start to rev up again and we are thinking long-term, 10-15 years after the stadium would be built, that AAA could come to Boise.  We have no desire to "go AAA" because there is more to it than declaring we want to do this.  The investment needed to do this and the amount of money it would add to the stadium cost make this a prohibitive option in our minds.  Again, more to come on this subject in a separate blog.

The Hawks are asking for the public to fund this facility:  There will be quite a bit more on this subject over the next few months but again, if you are of the belief that this facility is going to be totally funded by public money you are sorely mistaken.  The feasibility study that we presented to MDC today and will do so with Boise in the next week or so is based on a stadium management company running the facility.  As we continue our discussions with both cities our main task right now is to figure out a financing strategy.  But to put it in perspective with comparable facilities around the country, the average facility is built with 70% public funding and most stadiums have approximately 65-75 event dates.  Without having plans even close to finalized it would be inappropriate  for me to speculate on the exact percentages but for this to work it will have to be a partnership. 

Memorial Stadium is a terrible place:  WRONG!  I will take more time on this subject as well in the future but I want to mention that we are not looking for a new facility because we hate Memorial Stadium.  In 2006 we commissioned a renovation study that would upgrade the facility to include new and added seating, increased clubhouse capacity, expanded concourse with a new merchandise store and box office, field and outfield fence renovation, and much more.  It came back to us as a possible $8.5-$11 million project.  We haven't thrown this out.  It is still an option.  What Memorial Stadium provides is an excellent place for families to be entertained for a very inexpensive cost, as little as a $1 ticket on a Wednesday night.  It provides awesome sight lines, there is really not a bad seat in the house to watch the game.  Food prices are reasonable and the quality has been a main focus of ours.  The backdrop of the tree line and the foothills is outstanding.  Plus we strive for a clean, safe place and try to entertain the pants off of you.  Hopefully the guys on the field do their job and win some games as well.  Don't forget, free parking!  But Memorial Stadium is somewhat restricting when it comes to some of the other things we would like to do, such as, pro soccer and high school sports and we all know about the sun on 1st base.  But those seats sell out on numerous occasions when there is a great fireworks show or fun promotion.  So to think that it is a new stadium or the Hawks are bolting the Treasure Valley, that is simply not the case.  But as any business does, we need to look at all options for our well-being in the next 10, 20, 30+ years or we wouldn't be very responsible to our ownership or the residents of this valley.

I hope you made it through this first blog without going on to something else because it is lengthy.  I will try to tone it down and have smaller bites for you to read in the future.  But I felt with the amount of news out there in the last two months it was appropriate to get my take on these subjects.  Again, I will address Memorial Stadium and AAA baseball in two separate blogs and I will also address things that challenge us on a day-to-day basis.  Thanks for taking the time to read my insights and please let me know what your thoughts are as this may spur more blog ideas and discussion. 

- Todd