The New Harrisburg Senators
New Ownership Looks to Revive Winning Tradition of AA Baseball Team
Harrisburg's great minor league baseball tradition has taken a downturn lately, but new ownership and new management are looking to return the franchise to prominence.
It’s not easy running a minor league baseball team. Especially one that is going through a transition, or in the case of the Harrisburg Senators, many transitions. A team that has been in the Susquehanna Valley in one form or another for almost 100 years, the Senators begin the 2008 minor league baseball season with new ownership, new management, and a beautiful new stadium in the works.
The Senators are the AA affiliate of the Washington Nationals, and play in the highly competitive Eastern League. For the past 12 years, the City of Harrisburg has owned the team, and for a while, that system worked just fine. The Senators won the Eastern League championship six times between 1987 and 1999, including four straight from ’96 through ‘99.
But as time rolled on, the team struggled on the field, and their home, Commerce Bank Ball Park, located in an idyllic setting on City Island in the middle of the Susquehanna River, was becoming a little outdated. This combination led to smaller crowds and less interest in the team as the new millennium moved through its first decade. Finally, the City decided it was time to sell the team.
New Ownership Arrives in 2007
Enter Michael Reinsdorf. The head of International Facilities Group, a consulting company for major league and minor league stadium construction and finance, Reinsdorf also has had plenty of experience owning minor league football and hockey teams in California since 2005.
Along with some local Harrisburg-area partners, including hotel owner and developer Jay H. Shah of Harrisburg-based Hersha Hospitality Trust, Reinsdorf purchased the Senators last year for $13.25 million, a record price for a Double-A franchise. Now, Reinsdorf and his new management group are angling to make the Senators the top draw in Central Pennsylvania baseball.
The New Executive Management Team
With respect to his many successful business ventures, Mr. Reinsdorf has said that his management style is usually one of hiring the right people, giving them the support they need, and then letting them do their jobs. It’s a style that has served him well over the years, and it is precisely what he has done with his new executive management team of General Manager Randy Whitaker and Vice President in Charge of Operations Bill Davidson.
I recently sat down with these two executives to discuss the many challenges that come with running a minor baseball league club. As I have said elsewhere on this site, these guys have converted me -- and quite quickly I might add -- into a fan of the minor league game.
James Lincoln Ray: Randy, can you tell me what makes Minor League baseball an attractive recreation option for families?
General Manager Randy Whitaker: There is no better value in sports – or entertainment for that matter – than Minor League baseball. The affordability cannot be matched for admission, concession and entertainment. In Harrisburg, an evening with the Senators that includes tickets, hot dogs, and drinks for four is cheaper than tickets and food for four at the Hershey Park Amusement Park, the Hershey Bears minor league hockey team, and even the local metroplex movie theatre. The family gets to spend three interactive hours together in the fresh air – and they never get “shushed” for talking.
JLR: Bill and Randy, what is it about the Harrisburg Senators that most attracted you to the team?
Bill Davidson: The opportunity to take basically a dormant franchise and turn it into something spectacular. The Senators have a very strong and loyal core audience. What they needed was to engage the community and reach out to people who are not baseball fans, but simply individuals and families seeking entertainment. There is tremendous upside in terms of attendance potential if properly advertised and promoted.
Whitaker: The Senators’ ballpark has been my second home for almost 20 years. And, I’ve been a huge minor league baseball fan for a long time. For the last 15 years I’ve been “collecting ballparks” – going to as many different ballparks as I can reach. But rather than just watch the game, I’ve been just as interested in watching the operations at the park. I’m fascinated with the business of minor league baseball.
