| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
 Posted - 09/17/2013 : 08:30:14
|
Papa had the opportunity to stop by the new Lake Pointe Complex today. I happened to catch them in the middle of some type very large meeting. I did have a chance to ask the representative when we could expect to play some baseball and to my surprise was told that PG would start in the Summer of 2014. There was a lot of dirt being moved and the Wake Board complex was filling up with water. Questions that I have and would love to hear what some of you guys are thinking:
#1. What do you think the chance's are of actually playing some baseball at Lake Pointe during the summer of 2014.
#2. I know that most of you are hearing the same rumors that I have but the rumor that intrigues me the most is the one that has East Cobb running the PG tournaments at this site. Who better to run it than the people that have been running it at East Cobb for years and if they do get put in charge I feel that with 16 fields that they would be forced to at least let some teams other East Cobb play on site.
#3. Its not hard to pull the wool over Papa's eyes as I am getting older and can't remember where we play tomorrow much less the summer of 2014 but even with all of the work going on I can see what a huge project this is and 2014 seems aggressive to me.
#4. Most of us have been skeptical that this complex would happen at all much less dream that it might be ready by the summer of 2014. What's the odd's. The Lake Pointe representative was rushed to get back to the meeting and I am wondering if he meant that PG headguarters might be relocated here 2014.
#5. I think the best thing this place will offer will be the opportunity to actually play games at the complex you signed up to play for although I am sure that some high school fields might be needed even with 16 fields on site. If the local high schools are needed I would like to be the first to vote that the East Cobb teams be scheduled at the high schools so they will after all these years at least know where the high schools are located. |
|
|
in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2013 : 09:03:56
|
#1 - Your guess is as good as anyone's, but it would be just that. I believe it's possible but boils down to two things. First, money. Do they have it. It would appear so, but who knows. Second, weather. If weather cooperates, they won't lose construction days. Honestly, the bulk of the effort is moving dirt and getting drainage and hydraulics right. Then it's grading, laying turf and installing fencing and dugouts. Not daunting task, so very possible if 1 & 2 are in order
#2 - Is ECB REALLY running all the PG tournaments hosted in Atlanta? I seriously doubt it. I have yet to see an ECB run tournament that has the schedules & results posted in a timely manner, which is an area that PG excels. ECB may have a hand in some of the logistics, but all of the PG tourneys my sons have played in are consistently run, whether it's in Ft. Myers or Atlanta, so I suspect that PG is "running" their tourneys. I also believe that much of the constraint to PG's schedule are the windows of field availability. They host MULTIPLE age tournaments during the same week at the same locations. If they have exclusive use of 16 fields throughout the entire year, they can better stagger age groups so that they don't require as many fields in a two week period (if they spread out the same tournaments over a four week period). They may have a more consistent stream of tournaments spread across the entire year.
#3 - See #1 comments. They're not building a skyscraper here, just ball fields. Biggest hurdle for ANY construction project is money. The old adage is is you can have it on time, on budget, on specification, pick any two.
#4 - PG's made it clear that HQ is moving from Iowa here. I would suspect two factors are involved. Readiness of office facilities here and any leases they may have in Iowa. Again, money will be the driver here.
#5 - Huh???? I don't think PG gives a flip about which teams would play on the local HS or ECB fields. Honestly, I have to use my GPS every week to find a different HS field and my boys have been playing here for nearly 30 combined years. I wouldn't suspect that any overflow field use would be equally distributed. Also, per my earlier point, I think that 16 fields can be better scheduled if they have year round use of them. |
 |
|
|
Mets69
70 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2013 : 10:03:17
|
ECB may host the PG tournaments in Atlanta, but they certainly don't run the tournament! In addition, not all ECB teams get scheduled to play their games at ECB during PG events. I believe that priveledge only goes to the Astros (and perhaps a few other top teams), since they are the tournament host.
My son has played for an ECB the last 2 years and he's only played at ECB on 3 occasions at Perfect Game events (based on 14 total games). The only stipulation that I'm aware of is that Perfect Game tries not to place 2 teams from the same organization and age group into the same bracket. I'm sure there may be exceptions to this, but from what I've seen, it's pretty much been the case. |
|
|
|
bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2013 : 11:39:03
|
ECB does not run the tournament. PG does everything. As far as the Astros playing all their games at ECB, it really is no different than any other team in which PG uses their field. For instance, if PG uses the 643 facility, 643 will have all their games at their own field. This is supposedly done so that the coaches of the team are there to make sure field maintenance is kept up and decisions on field conditions can be made. In other words, if it rains, the coaches need to be at the field to make the call on whether the field is playable or not. It is done to make sure that the people in charge of the field are at the field at all times. Hope that makes sense. Other than that, ECB is just leasing their facilities to PG for the tournaments. I'm sure there are some back room deals done between PG and ECB to get most of their teams at least a game at ECB, but the administration of the tournament is all PG.
PG usually uses in the neighborhood of 30 fields for their tournaments. So, with 16 being at the new complex, they will still need more fields. My guess is they will continue to use ECB for 3 of those fields and the rest will be in close proximity to the new complex and ECB to keep travel times down.
I agree with ITK about weather playing a big part in whether this will get done in time or not. The thing they have going for them is that the fields will all be turf which will cut way back on the time needed. I think it is possible. |
|
|
|
Critical Mass
277 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2013 : 07:50:28
|
| I'm sure we ALL hope that the PG fields here will have working scoreboards during games... unline ECB. As always weather, then money will affect the completion of the complex construction by the goal date. This will be awesome for youth baseball and will hopefully offer more great options for large tournaments to be played showcasing teams from all over the country. Great for Atlanta baseball players. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
LAKE POINTE COMING SUMMER 2014?
