MountainStar releases 2014 El Paso Triple-A schedule
ABC-7 was the first to tell you on Friday that El Paso’s new $60-million-plus Downtown Ballpark will celebrate its opening day on April 11.
On Monday, MountainStar Sports Group officially released the team’s 2014 Pacific Coast League schedule.
The schedule features a number of key dates, but none more important than the first one of April 11, which is when ballpark construction must be completed.
ABC-7’s cameras were rolling as crews poured concrete to form the concourse of the new Downtown Ballpark on Monday, the same day, El Paso Triple-A team officials released their first Pacific Coast League Schedule.
“This is real,” MountainStar Sports General Manager Brad Taylor said. “This defines that the team is going to be here.”
Among the key home dates, besides opening day, is a home game May 11 on Mother’s Day and a home game on Father’s Day, June 15. Other dates of interest include a home game on July 3 for the Fourth of July celebration, games against Albuquerque, the Triple-A affiliate of the Dodgers, on May 10-13 and again June 30 to July 3 and against Round Rock, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, from June 13-16.
“They try to give you every opportunity out of the gate to get more of your premium dates a little more toward the middle and get open and get a lot of the physical things done inside the ballpark,” Taylor said. “This is a true marker of a time frame now.”
That time frame is less than eight months or about 34 weeks, or 234 days to complete. But will the Ballpark be completely completed?”
“That’s cutting it close,” said East El Paso baseball fan Andrew Flores.
ABC-7 MountainStar’s Taylor whether it would be completed in time.
“Seeing how I’m not laying concrete or putting the walls up I wouldn’t want to answer that,” Taylor said. “I can tell you those guys are working every day. They say they’re on time right now. It’s August, we don’t start until April. I wouldn’t want to lock anybody into definite.”
ABC-7 also asked to speak with City of El Paso officials about completely completing the Ballpark by opening day, they sent a statement saying only that it remains on schedule and they will “complete it as expeditiously, safely and efficiently as possible.”
