by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Jacksonville Suns general manager Peter Bragan Jr. said Monday the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville could attract a Triple-A franchise to the city within four years.
Speaking at the Omni, Bragan told Rotary Club of Jacksonville the 10,000-seat ballpark, which opened in April, would be attractive to major league franchises such as Milwaukee and Atlanta looking to move their Triple-A affiliates from outdated stadiums.
“This ballpark cries out for Triple-A baseball. It’s a better ballpark than a lot of Triple-A stadiums I’ve seen,” said Bragan. “In the next few years, before we’re finished, we’re going to get a Triple-A team in that ballpark.”
Bragan said the stadium offers players major league caliber locker rooms and training facilities that rival a doctor’s office. He said the entire city should take pride in the final product.
As part of the Better Jacksonville Plan, the stadium was funded partially by a half-cent tax increase approved by voters in September 2000.
“Everybody in this room is helping to pay for that ballpark,” said Bragan. “And everybody in this city can be proud of it. It’s the best stadium in the country, just not the biggest.”
Despite the team’s last-place standing in the Southern League, home attendance has doubled in 2003. Bragan largely attributed the increase to the ballpark’s allure. Through Monday, the Suns led the league in attendance. On July 8, the stadium will host the league’s All-Star game, bringing players, staff and fans from other league cities to Jacksonville.
“That will be a nice time for us to shine the city of Jacksonville,” said Bragan.
Bragan said the stadium was the latest example of cooperation between the franchise and the city. His family bought the team in 1984, and Bragan said he sought immediately to create a partnership with the community. The club has raised funds and donated equipment to local charities. In 1994, the Southern League gave the team its community relations award.
For the last 12 years, Bragan has issued his “Casey Challenge” to area elementary school students. In an effort to spark literary interest, Bragan offers the students a baseball bat or glove if they can memorize “Casey at the Bat,” Ernest Thayer’s famous baseball poem. He said more than 2,500 students have memorized the poem since he began the program in 1991.