The Atlantic League's York Revolution isn't scheduled to play their first game for almost three weeks, but the wicked weather in the northeast has already affected the start of their season. Snow has slowed construction on Sovereign Bank Stadium, the ballpark for the first year franchise, so much that the Revolution announced on Wednesday the ballpark will not be ready in time for the season opener.
At least 15 games will have to be rescheduled, with as many as 12 being moved to a neutral site. Those games are expected to be played in Camden, pending the approval of the league. That could happen as early as today.
The new home-opening date is slated for June 15 against the Newark Bears.
The March snowstorms delayed construction, but they were not the only factor causing the delayed home opener. According to their web site, York also needed to remove thousands of tons of rock from the construction site – something they didn't expect.
Even though the ballpark is scheduled to open on June 15, it is not slated to be completed until August. Apparently York management expects enough of the construction to be completed by mid June that the club will be able to secure the necessary permits to allow fans to enter the ballpark.
The delay is, of course, bad news. The Dugout wonders if this delay is just the beginning. Planning to open an incomplete ballpark seems like quite a risk. If management wins this gamble, maybe York should be playing its neutral games in a different New Jersey town - Atlantic City.
Unlucky 13: Greensboro won its first 12 games of the season before losing 5-1 to Columbus on April 15. That leaves the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League as the lone remaining undefeated team in minor league baseball. The Dragons, who lost a bunch of games to bad weather, are 9-0 entering Thursday’s games.
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