State, local pols bask in stadium scene

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

He has presided over Board of Public Works meetings and delivered college commencement addresses.

None prepared Brown (D) for the pressure-packed task he faced Friday night: throw a strike to revered Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson to officially christen Regency Furniture Stadium as home of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

In between gladhanding VIPs at a reception in the stadium’s pavilion, Brown, donning a Blue Crabs polo, was keeping his arm loose by warming up with aides in the parking lot. And just before he stepped to the mound in front of 7,180 Opening Day spectators, any nerves had calmed as he and Robinson yukked it up.

‘‘You know what I’m going to do when we get out there,” Robinson asked Brown rhetorically before dropping his glove and putting both hands out.

‘‘And I’m going to do this,” Brown responded, mimicking an underhanded toss.

But the state’s second-in-command was well prepared for the moment (he vowed last week not to be booed off the field for throwing one in the dirt a la Vice President Dick Cheney at RFK Stadium in 2006). He had spent the last few days practicing with his 7-year-old son, Jonathan, who plays shortstop in a Prince George’s County youth league. And when he left home Friday, after walking off the 60 feet, 6 inches for one last throw, Jonathan offered some words of encouragement. ‘‘You can do it, Dad,” he said.

And he did.

Standing just in front of the hill, Brown threw a slow but accurate ball that landed right in Robinson’s mitt.

‘‘I thought it was low and inside, but Brooks told me it was right down the middle,” Brown mused afterward. (Standing right behind the plate, we can confirm that the pitch caught the corner.)

The ceremonial pitch was only part of the hype leading up to the inaugural game.

The opening ceremonies started ominously. Charles County commissioners’ President F. Wayne Cooper (D), perhaps a bit nervous amid all the festivities, butchered Robinson’s name, calling him ‘‘Brooks Roberts,” prompting some in the crowd to yell out the proper pronunciation.

Opening Night offered plenty of enthusiasm for those getting their first glimpse of the stadium. The numerous children’s activities – a climbing wall, moon bounce and face painting, among others – stood out.

‘‘It seems like it’s a park for so much more than baseball,” said College of Southern Maryland President Bradley M. Gottfried. ‘‘So many times, it a stadium, period, and this is more of a community amenity.”

For Charles County Commissioner Gary V. Hodge (D), Friday marked the culmination of more than two decades of trying to get a baseball team in Southern Maryland, dating to his years as executive director of the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland.

‘‘The magic is in the people inside the stadium,” he said. ‘‘By opening the gates today, we breathe life into a magnificent building ... and it begins its own story.”

It wasn’t long ago that the stadium’s prospects looked bleak. A group of Hughesville residents forced officials to pull the plug on the original site, delaying a project whose price tag was climbing with the skyrocketing cost of construction materials.

Local businessman Chris Ripley noted the irony that Hughesville residents might come to regret pushing the stadium away now that they are fighting efforts to put a gravel wash plant in the town.

While the independent club is not affiliated with the major leagues, Ripley, whose family is hosting Blue Crabs’ catcher Adam Shorsher, said it will draw well throughout the season because it’s closer and more affordable than Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals or even Bowie Baysox games. ‘‘This has the potential to spend many a summer night at.”

Brown, who lives several miles from the Baysox home field, can attest to their value. Shortly after that stadium was built in the mid-1990s, Bowie exploded with commercial and retail development. More often than not, the benefits of extra jobs, economic development and an added community amenity outweigh the public taxpayer investment, he said.

Brown marveled at the high-definition Jumbotron in center field and was also taken by the children’s activities. ‘‘Kids like baseball, but you have got to have some diversions to get through nine innings,” he said.

Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) was on hand to tout the project’s tax benefits. ‘‘As soon as you walk in, you have the spirit of success.”

Local legislators said all their lobbying to secure state financing for the project proved worthwhile when they came through the turnstiles and felt the electricity in the air.

‘‘You have to have a heart of stone not to like this,” said Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Charles), who was commissioners’ president when the project got under way. ‘‘It kind of validates the belief that many of us had that this was going to be a big hit in Southern Maryland. We’re baseball-crazy, and we have a lot of kids. It’s ready-made [for success].”

U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md., 5th), who made it back from a campaign trip to Indiana for opening night, agreed that the $27 million project will be worth every penny.

‘‘This is a perfect example of a public-private partnership that works for economic development, works for quality of life, works for the community and for families,” he said. ‘‘If there was any doubt that this was something the community was excited about, tonight puts that to rest.”

Echoed Charles County Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D): ‘‘I think this is just taking us one step closer towards our goal of making this a premier community.”

It also doesn’t hurt to win and the Blue Crabs were undefeated in their first four home games through Monday.

About the only Opening Night glitch was traffic tie-ups on Piney Church Road and a lack of parking that forced dozens of cars to park along the side of the road and walk about a half-mile to the stadium.

Team owners were gleeful that parking was the biggest hiccup and that every seat patch of outfield lawn space was claimed.

‘‘Everybody’s got a smile on their faces, including us,” said Opening Day Partners President Jon Danos, who took particular satisfaction at the involvement of roughly 1,000 youth ballplayers in the opening ceremony. ‘‘This marks the beginning of when the community can say, ‘This is my team.’”

Robinson said he knew long ago that Southern Maryland would be a perfect fit for baseball. ‘‘People are baseball-hungry. They love it down here. The price is right. What’s not to like?”

Regency Furniture Stadium is the 14th ballpark built by Opening Day Partners Chairman Peter Kirk. It is the smallest with a seating capacity of only 4,500. That also makes it the most fan-friendly park with people sitting closer to the action and having better sightlines, he said.

Kirk pledged that the team would add new attractions and promotions each year to maintain interest in the stadium.

Regardless of how the team performs on the field, Danos believes the stadium is a winning product.

‘‘This has to be a place where people enjoy, win or lose,” he said. ‘‘You don’t have to be an avid fan to enjoy this.”