This one is from Walter Bradner
“Mr. Studer’s idea to have a baseball park is OK, it’s just his choice of location that’s significantly flawed.
Pensacola’s metropolitan-area population is not centered at the water’s edge, and nearly all of the city’s future residential development is moving to the north and west, and east into Santa Rosa County.
The Pelicans enjoy reasonable attendance at the University of West Florida now because they can conveniently draw from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, and the surrounding infrastructure supports high traffic volumes.
If Mr. Studer puts the park 12 miles farther south and forces us to use the constrained access of our city’s circuitous streets, attendance will tank.
So, what’s wrong with keeping the Pels at the University of West Florida? Why would anyone want to spend tens of millions of dollars building another park for 48 home games when the team can continue to play at a nice facility without the investment?
If Mr. Studer is showcasing his good business sense now, then you have to really question his agenda and that of the Community Maritime Park Associates, for which he is the prime mover.”
– Walter L. Bradner Sr., Pensacola
____________________________________
RO Notes: The Vince Whibbs, Sr., Community Maritime Park isn’t about Quint Studer. Yet the naysayers want to make him the issue.
The stadium is more than a baseball park. Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright has told us how they use their stadium year around and it cost $30 million.
As far as infrastructure to get to the park, I’m not sure when was the last Mr. Bradner drove downtown. The Whibbs park will be built on the four-lane Main Street. It has easy access from I-110 and Gulf Breeze.
I wish PNJ readers would do a little research before they write.
Here is the Independent News article on baseball (Field of Dreams)