The business of baseball is getting another crack at the bat in Alberta.

The boys of summer will be out in force later this month as the independent Northern League unveils two new franchises: One in Edmonton, the other in Calgary.

The Edmonton Cracker-Cats (the name is based on an oil-related term called fluid catalytic cracking) and the Calgary Vipers should not only hit a home run with the fans, they will also pave the way for the league's future business growth, say Northern League officials.

With a brand of baseball that is described as more competitive than the Triple-A product that Edmonton and Calgary once played host to - though the actual level of play is said to be a notch below at the Double-A equivalent - the teams could have an economic impact in the range of as much as $10 million per city.

Jack Dagley, Business Edge
General manager Mel Kowalchuk, right, and assistant GM Fraser Murray are ready for the Edmonton Cracker-Cats to play ball.

Cracker-Cats general manager Mel Kowalchuk says studies done a number of years ago when he was at the helm of the Edmonton Trappers, the city's former Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate, showed that the economic impact of such a team was around $20 million.

"I always felt that number was high and I thought ours (impact of the Trappers) was $7 million to $10 million," says Kowalchuk. With a Cracker-Cats' budget that is similar to that of a low-end Triple-A club, the positive impact on a Northern League city should be similar, he says.

Meanwhile, with opening day nearing, both teams have been hiring and spending above and beyond the $1-million franchise fee each paid to enter the league.

The Vipers have an operating budget of $1.7 million and have signed a 25-year lease to use Foothills Stadium. Excluding baseball players and coaches, the Vipers employ 10 people in their front office and during the team's 48 home games another 40 to 50 people will be hired. The team also paid $1 million for a videoboard that will go above the scoreboard and provide fans with widescreen video playback while also allowing for the airing of sponsors' messages and other promotional material.

In Edmonton, the Cracker-Cats have a five-year lease, with a five-year option, on Telus Field. Excluding players and coaches, there are fewer than 20 staff, but that number is expected to easily rise above 100 once the players take to the field and the fans are in the seats.

Peter Young, president and COO of the Vipers, believes that players play more for the love of the game than for lucrative contracts.

"It's a very fiscally responsible league," says Young. "The league has a salary cap of $100,000 US for the year for all 22 players that are on the team."

Salaries range from a low of $800 per month, but Young says players at this level of pay can expect to be billeted with a local family, while veterans - such as players who have played in the majors, though each team is only allowed a maximum of four - can earn $3,000 per month.

Even though the first pitch has yet to be thrown, response from the business community has generally been positive, says Kowalchuk. "In some areas we're ahead of the Trappers (who left Edmonton at the end of last season), but when it comes to others it's going to take some education to get them onboard."

In Calgary, the corporate community has embraced the team from Day 1, notes Young.

That's the type of reaction Northern League COO John Blake is hoping for.

"From a business perspective, as we move forward as a league, we see the potential of adding more markets like Calgary and Edmonton, and we see (that resulting in) more sponsorships on a league level. Having teams like Calgary and Edmonton is going to help. Markets of that size, with their corporate communities, are going to be great for this league," says Blake.

Blake talks of future expansion and larger markets for a league that includes teams in Gary, Ind., Joliet, Ill., and Lincoln, Neb. He sees the Detroit area as a possible home for a future team.

Expansion is also on the mind of commissioner Mike Sloan, who sees the league reaching 16 teams by 2007. With the addition of Edmonton and Calgary, the league now has two six-team divisions.

Sloan, who served as president and COO of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers from 1983 to 1990, would like to add another Canadian team into the mix, though he is not sure if he can find a suitably sized market with the right demographics.

Canada remains a strong contender for another team based on the success of the league's Winnipeg squad, the Goldeyes. Winnipeg is known for drawing huge crowds and has become the first independent team ever to average more than 7,000 fans per game.

For Sloan, however, the Northern League is more than just about baseball or business - it's about having a good time.

"It's about fun and the recognition that the game is a recreational outlet for people. It's supposed to be about fun and not so much about the money involved," he says. "(Major League) players make so much money that I don't think fans can identify with them. In the Northern League, we're here to have fun. You can get a hot dog for $1 and enjoy the game, and not spend a week's salary doing it."

More importantly, he adds, "the league across the board is doing very well. All the teams are profitable.”

As to whether Edmonton and Calgary can succeed this time around the bases, Young says it's all about understanding what independent baseball really is about.

"In baseball, all the minor-league teams are owned by the major-league teams and the players are bouncing up and down (from the minors to the majors or vice versa)," says Young. "The best players don't play all the time, the (minor-league) managers are told to play the players that the major-league team wants to see developed.

"This is a totally different type of baseball. It's very, very competitive baseball and the best players will play all the time. That's the reason why it will work."It wasn't due to a lack of support that Calgary and Edmonton lost their Triple A-teams, adds Young, citing distance from the other clubs and their parent teams as to why the cities struck out before. "These were two strong baseball markets."

Cracker-Cats assistant general manager Fraser Murray says some people still are cautious about the new product.

"But I truly believe if we get them out to the park and show them what brand of baseball this is, we'll get them out to the park again," says Murray. "We're not a farm team, we're our own entity. Generally, the response has been favourable."

But not all is rosy in this field of dreams, says Dan Mason, who specializes in teaching sports management at the University of Alberta.

While it is good that Edmonton was able to land a replacement immediately after losing the Trappers - in order to avoid leaving the impression that an empty Telus Field was a white elephant - on a branding level the city may have dropped a notch, he says.

"The city (Edmonton) likes to position itself as a major-league city and the Trappers were one step down from the major leagues. Losing the Trappers means the city takes a bit of a hit in terms of branding itself as a 'major destination' city," says Mason.

"Losing the Trappers is not like losing the (Edmonton) Eskimos or the Oilers, but if you lose enough over time, it will have an impact."

Mason doesn't think Calgary's earlier loss of its Triple-A team, the Cannons, resonated as much in Calgary. "It's a little different in Calgary. Sports is much more closely (tied) to Edmonton's self-image than Calgary's," says Mason. "Edmonton has positioned itself as the City of Champions and sports have become a (large) part of the community's identity."

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)