By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@....


Mandalay Baseball Properties is committed to keeping the Erie
SeaWolves in Erie beyond the 2005 season, the corporation's vice
president of development said Tuesday.

"I don't foresee anything happening to the SeaWolves in the immediate
future in terms of a question on some people's minds about us picking
up the franchise and moving,'' Rich Neumann said. "We like Erie and
we like an awful lot about Erie. We intend to do everything we can to
make baseball thrive here.''

For that to happen, Neumann said, Mandalay will continue to push for
increased attendance, additional corporate support and upgrades to
Jerry Uht Park. Mandalay officials last season said that without
those, they would consider moving the team.

Neumann, who attended the Class AA team's hot-stove banquet Tuesday
at the Avalon Hotel, said Mandalay was "very pleased with the
progress the SeaWolves made last year.''

The SeaWolves averaged 3,552 fans per game in the 2004 season, an 11
percent attendance increase over 2003. Still, those figures fell
short of the 4,000 per-game average Mandalay officials were seeking.

"Hank Stickney, our chief executive officer, threw out that number,''
Neumann said. "That was a goal. It wasn't a benchmark or a threshold.
The interpretation that if we didn't get to 4,000, there was going to
be trouble or a greater impetus to relocate the franchise just really
is inaccurate. We would love to see 6,000 fans at a game on a regular
basis, and hopefully one day we'll get there.''

John Frey, the SeaWolves' general manager, said increasing attendance
and creating a new atmosphere at the ballpark were the franchise's
top priorities for 2004.

"We did that and we're headed in that direction again this season,''
Frey said. "Our group sales are up, and all of our sales across the
board are better than last year at this point.

"The first step had to be attendance. Now, the second step is the
corporate sponsorship side of it, and that's the thing we're working
on now.''

Mandalay, which bought the SeaWolves in July 2003, has a lease
agreement with the Erie County Convention Center Authority to field a
Class AA franchise in Erie through the 2005 season.

Neumann said he expects Mandalay will begin negotiating with the
Convention Center Authority before the start of the season in early
April.

About 100 fans attended Tuesday's banquet, many to obtain autographs
from SeaWolves third baseman Jack Hannahan and new manager Duffy Dyer.

Eric Brookhouser of Erie, wearing a Detroit Tigers baseball cap and
jacket, attended 60 Erie SeaWolves games in 2004 and plans to attend
the same number this season.

"I'm saying there will be baseball after this season,'' Brookhouser
said, "but I'd rather focus on keeping Double-A baseball here and
getting the people in this town to realize the importance of it and
what they will be missing if we lose baseball.''

Bob Hiegel, 54, of Erie, a SeaWolves season-ticket holder the past
six seasons, admitted he can't contemplate the thought of the
SeaWolves' moving elsewhere. "No baseball next season would bother
me,'' Hiegel said. "I would be hurt. Erie needs baseball. The minor
leagues are the best for your money, and the SeaWolves play good
baseball. I think they are going in the right direction.''

So does Frey, who said the franchise still is awaiting word on
whether the Convention Center Authority will receive $400,000 in
state funds for the construction of a multitiered picnic area at
Jerry Uht Park.

The picnic area would replace 1,500 to 2,000 bleacher seats down the
right-field line. The project cost is estimated at $525,000. The
authority has said if the state provides money, it will pay the
difference.

Mandalay officials talked in 2004 about installing a new $1 million
video scoreboard at Jerry Uht Park, but that project probably will
not materialize this season, Frey said.

"We know this is not an overnight thing,'' Frey said. "You have to
build credibility and show people your franchise is going in the
right direction. I think we're going there. There are no mandates or
thresholds or magic numbers. It's just stuff they are pushing us
toward now that we're trying to improve on and make better.''


RON LEONARDI, can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.


Last changed: February 02. 2005 1:14AM