There’s a different feel when saying Palace Sports and Entertainment owns the Asheville Tourists.
It was so much more friendly and personal seeing Woody Kern and Ron McKee as the owners, wasn’t it?
But after 23 years, the Rockies’ Single-A affiliate in the North Carolina hamlet of Asheville has gone the way of corporate ownership in minor-league baseball.
If Asheville is a good indication, the change from the mom- and-pop operators to a more big- business approach isn’t cause for alarm. There’s stated interest in retaining the small-town closeness and folksy charm that has made minor-league teams an important part of baseball’s claim as the national pastime.
“The change of ownership has been very positive,” said Chris Smith, who was retained as assistant general manager of the Tourists. He worked for Kern and McKee for nine years.
“They’ve done some amazing things with some renovation and sprucing up the park,” Smith said. “They added picnic areas and kept our park fan-friendly. Who wouldn’t want to retain the things that have made minor-league baseball so popular?”
The new owners also added a luxury seating area with 57 seats that go for $2,500 each for the season. The price includes reserved parking and other amenities.
McCormick Field was built in 1992. The new owners reportedly put $750,000 into the renovations and added a huge new scoreboard that could be the largest in minor-league baseball. A museum to commemorate Asheville’s baseball history is in the works.
Sean Henry, chief operating officer for Palace Sports and Entertainment, based in Tampa, Fla., said new ownership arrived amid some skepticism. He said minor-league baseball teams could be targets of corporate interests because most of them are profitable.
“We heard things like, ‘The suits are here,”‘ Henry said. “We kind of said to give us an hour to screw up before labeling us. We’re not looking at the balance sheet, but there’s no doubt that you want your dollars to be in a sound investment. We don’t expect to make money this year.”
McKee, 60, and his wife, Carolyn, were the day-to-day operators of the Tourists.
“It was a more personal thing because we live in the community,” McKee said. “If someone got a bad hot dog, we heard about it.”
McKee said he believes the trend away from individual ownership isn’t necessarily a bad thing. He sees the passion small communities have for their teams as a buffer to a corporate takeover that drastically could change the face of minor-league baseball.
“The best thing about minor-league baseball is that when a fan hollers at an umpire, the umpire can hear him,” McKee said. “The fans become very close to their players.”
McKee said the stars were lined up just right, and the numbers weren’t lined up badly, either, in the decision to sell. When Kern bought the team in 1982 he paid $42,000. Kern and McKee sold the Tourists for $6 million.
John Moss, the longtime president of the South Atlantic League that includes Asheville, said his league is typical of minor-league baseball. Only five of the 16 teams in the league are owned by what could be considered individual owners.
“We’ve had 13 new stadiums in our league in the last decade,” Moss said. “Minor-league baseball still is a place where you meet your neighbor.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
