BATTLE FOR LABATT PARK
Posted by: CTV London on: June 25, 2012
- In: Baseball | Daily Stories
- 1 Comment
London Rippers make challenge to Majors
LONDON, ONTARIO – Labatt Park isn’t big enough for the two of us.
The London Rippers are issuing a challenge to the London Majors: “Let’s Play Ball”.
Rippers’ General Manager/Field Manager, David Martin wants to put the liquor license and Labatt Park on the line in a three-game winner-takes-all series.
Martin is proposing the winner of the three game set would get the rights to the liquor license and Labatt Park. The loser would have to find a new ballpark to play at.
“We want to put our money where our mouth is.” says Martin, “The Majors call themselves a minor league baseball team and a semi-pro team on their Wikipedia page, here is their chance to play the actual pros and see how they stack up.”
The London Rippers can’t sell alcohol at Labatt Park because the rights to the liquor license for the municipally owned stadium is in the name of the Intercounty Baseball Majors, with City consent and no fair resolution has been presented by the Majors or the City of London.
So, Martin wants to decide it on the field.
“At the end of the day it’s all about business.” Martin says, “I think the ballpark can only handle one team and if the city isn’t going to step up and address this issue, then we should do it ourselves. It Scott Dart wants to play George Steinbrenner and Roop Chanderdat wants to be Billy Martin, then this Martin says “let’s do it’”.
May the better team win and may the other start packing their bags.
The challenge has been issued and the Rippers are ready to play…but are the Majors?
June 25, 2012 at 7:21 pm
I might be wrong, but David Martin sounds like a bully who’s not getting his own way. First, he didn’t take the concerns about the team name serious, now it appears there might be some “buyers’ remorse” or more likely, the realization that he hadn’t “covered all the bases” concerning his contract/agreement with the London Majors. I listened to his interview on the news the other day and he sounded arrogant, condescending and whiny. This challenge is just obnoxious to me.