GM: L'Kings staying put

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By Steve Batterson | Tuesday, July 1, 2008 10:38 PM CDT | () comments

CLINTON, Iowa — The only place the Clinton LumberKings are going is to the upcoming Midwest League playoffs.

Ted Tornow, in his 10th season as the general manager of the league’s oldest franchise, bristles at the suggestion in multiple items posted recently on a baseball blog that the team might be on the market and might be contemplating a move up the Mississippi River to Dubuque, Iowa.

“We didn’t put $4.5 million into our ballpark to pack up and move. The club is not for sale, and it never has been for sale,’’ Tornow said.

“In my time here, we’ve probably heard from 250 people inquiring about the possibility, and the answer is always the same. This team is not for sale.’’

Midwest League baseball has been played in Clinton since 1956, making it four years older than the Quad-City franchise that is the second oldest in the league.

Franchises have come and gone in 19 different cities since Clinton joined the league, but the community-owned team continues to operate and has enjoyed solid growth since stadium renovations were completed at Alliant Energy Field before the 2006 season.

Operated as a nonprofit entity and overseen by a board of directors, its 4,000 shares are held by more than 1,000 entities, a mix of individuals, estates and corporations.

Many are Clinton-area residents whose loyalty has helped the club remain as an entertainment option in the community.

The LumberKings drew 116,261 fans and averaged 1,661 per game in 2007, 12th among the league’s 14 franchises.

Clinton becomes a target for speculation in part because of its market size.

Often mentioned in the same breath with Midwest League members Beloit and Burlington — other franchises located in communities that are among the five smallest markets in the nation to host full-season clubs — Clinton becomes an easy target for talk.

That’s what frustrates Tornow the most.

At a time when he and the LumberKings staff are busy dealing with game operations for the current season and planning for the 2009 Midwest League All-Star Game the LumberKings will host next June, Tornow has been peppered with questions from near and far about the franchise’s future.

“It’s frustrating because there are so many other things that time can be spent on,’’ Tornow said. “The talk — especially talk that isn’t based in fact — is hurtful. In this case, there is absolutely nothing to it. Nobody has contacted me or our board about any sort of a sale that could lead us to leave town and move to Dubuque.’’

Tornow has been unsuccessful in attempts to track down the source of the rumor but wants to reassure fans that the LumberKings will continue to call Clinton home.

“Our community, our fans, our staff and board, they’ve responded to what we’ve tried to do here, and we want to left them know that we aren’t going anyplace,’’ Tornow said.

“Others may try to undermine what we are doing, but we are here today, we’ll be here tomorrow and we’ll be here well into the future.’’

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.