Cities stripped of minor league teams finding ways forward

Bert Parsley’s vision was bold and unusual — a 35,000 square-foot restaurant and event area adjoining a Harley Davidson dealership.

The space would only work in the right location, and the one he found on Port Charlotte’s El Jobean Road seemed perfect.

“We’re right in front of Charlotte County Sports Complex,” the Twisted Fork restaurant owner recalled thinking. “How could this go wrong?”

Before the eatery even opened, the minor league team that called the stadium home was gone.

When Major League Baseball stripped 40 teams of their affiliation in a drastic shakeup of the minor leagues this winter, most were compensated with an alternative high-level club, such as a college summer league team.

Port Charlotte, Florida, was among a handful of exceptions. The Charlotte Stone Crabs — formerly a Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays — were forced to close entirely, and there's no plan to replace them. Their departure has left businesses, nonprofits, youth baseball leagues and others in the community seeking ways to replace the revenue and revelry the ball club provided.

“It became a part of the fabric of our organization,” said Lynn Dorler, head of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Charlotte County. “We miss that.”

Parsley had hoped fans filing in and out of the ballpark would provide big business for his unusual space, but since Twisted Fork finally opened last September, he's had to adjust expectations for the reality that minor league ball might be gone forever from this town on Florida's Gulf Coast.

“I can only imagine what the games would have done for us," he said.

The Stone Crabs' community ties were big and small. Some losses are regrettable but hardly crushing — the Port Charlotte Little League, for example, used to be provided with the baseballs left over each...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Cities-stripped-of-minor-league-teams-finding-16271843.php