In today's New London Day

Norwich — City officials want to spend $190,000 to resod the playing field and $100,000 each to move in the fences and renovate the bathrooms as part of a $610,000 upgrade designed to make Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium more hitter-friendly and more inviting to fans.
Some of the changes, which would be paid for by a bond issue requested by the city's Baseball Stadium Authority, are required in accordance with the city's lease with the Connecticut Defenders, the San Francisco Giants' Double A minor league franchise.
But the cost could prove to be controversial among taxpayers, since the Defenders are about $200,000 behind in their lease payments to the city, and attendance, despite rising slightly this year, has dropped over the past several years to among the lowest in its league.
Poll: Why don't you go to more games?
Team and city officials will meet this morning to discuss the financial situation. Team attorney Glenn Carberry said the deficit is not as extreme as it appears to be because the Defenders took on many of the expenses the authority couldn't afford in lieu of rental payments. Those bills must be subtracted from the back lease payments.
Acting City Manager Joseph Ruffo, who is also the city comptroller, hopes to get exact figures from both sides at today's meeting. On Monday, the council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on the proposed ordinance to bond the money for the improvements, which also include new skybox carpeting.
The council must wait to vote on the ordinance until it hears a report from the Commission on the City Plan at the Sept. 4 meeting.
The Defenders, who have averaged 2,885 seats sold through Aug. 15, are currently last in the 12-team Eastern League in attendance. Norwich has the smallest population base of any Double A team, further hampering the team's efforts to attract fans and revenue.
For the past two years, the Giants have requested the stadium's fences be moved in to help increase home runs and scoring, but the project was put off until the resodding was approved to save time and money.
Team and city officials considered moving the infield closer to the walls, but Gary Schnip, the stadium authority member in charge of upkeep at the facility, said it now seems more cost-effective to just move the fences. Although final details have yet to be worked out, Schnip said it might be enough to adjust certain sections of the fence.
“The goal is to make the field play smaller,” Defenders General Manager Charlie Dowd said. “It's a goal enunciated by the Giants at every meeting .... It's a function of making it more in line with what the big-league affiliate wants, and what the fans want. Fans want power.”
Norwich Mayor Benjamin Lathrop and Dowd said the upgrades included in the bonding package should help improve attendance. Fans have complained about the poor condition of the bathrooms for years. Although they are not dirty, they appear to be, Dowd said, and that's what matters.
“It's the future of the ballpark,” Dowd said. “It's an issue whether people will come back. We want to keep mom happy, and mom cares about clean bathrooms.”
All agree there is much riding on the improvements. The Defenders' lease runs through 2012, but the team could leave after the 2009 season by making an early buyout payment.
Lathrop supports the bond, as long as the team fulfills its financial obligations. He also said the city has a responsibility to make sure the stadium remains professional quality.
“I'm supportive of taking care of the facility the city has,” Lathrop said. “We committed to this stadium 13 years ago. Let's not make a skeleton out of it. I'm very supportive. I've always been very supportive of that stadium.”
Carberry, who led the effort to bring minor league baseball to the region in 1994, said the $10 million Dodd Stadium has been “a great investment for the city of Norwich.”
Over the years, Norwich has spent $1.25 million on the stadium, and the city owns the facility outright.
“The community has had the benefit of 13 years of professional baseball with more to come,” Carberry said. “It has cost the taxpayers about $100,000 per year for the city to have this beautiful facility which has attracted close to 3 million people to Norwich.”
The Defenders return from a road trip tonight to play host to the New York Yankees' Double A affiliate, the Trenton Thunder. The Yankees' Double A affiliation was formerly with Norwich, but the franchise moved to New Jersey after the Norwich Navigators won the Eastern League championship in 2002.
Defenders General Manager Charlie Dowd said he continues to hear complaints that having the San Francisco Giants as the parent club has hurt attendance, but hopes the team can stand on its own.
c.bessette@theday.com
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