During the past few weeks we've been following the unfolding saga of the Atlanta Braves intention to relocate their high-A franchise to Wilmington, North Carolina. All along I figured that the Braves would simply create a new minor league franchise (out of thin air), and not renew their contract with the Lynchburg Hillcats, which expires after the 2014 season.
Come to find out that the Braves seem to prefer to purchase the Hillcats and move that franchise to Wilmington.
The Atlanta Braves have reached a tentative agreement with the Lynchburg Baseball Corporation to purchase full control of the Hillcats, Lynchburg general manager Paul Sunwall said Wednesday. But the sale will not commence unless Wilmington agrees to build a new stadium for the Braves.
The sale would also be contingent on another minor league franchise moving to Lynchburg. Hillcats beat reporter Chris Lang of the Lynchburg News & Advance also wrote this in his story about the Braves possibly purchasing the 'Cats:
The Braves first approached Lynchburg about purchasing the team in the fall and the tentative agreement began to come together in late December, Sunwall said. The Hillcats are the only team in Atlanta’s minor league system not owned by the parent club.
If the stadium deal falls through in Wilmington, Atlanta will not purchase the Lynchburg franchise.
That begs the question about what any new team in Wilmington would be called (clearly this is a very important topic for me). If the Braves purchase the Hillcats franchise, they may not necessarily care about purchasing the Hillcats name. Firstly because we all assume they will want to rebrand the new Wilmington franchise with the "Braves" moniker, and secondly because "Hill" cats doesn't really fit in a coastal city. I continue to hope (and lobby for) the Braves to choose a unique and original name, and not lazily put Braves in front of the city (or state) name as they've done everywhere else.
0 recs | 8 comments
We can hope all day, but we all know a Wilmington team would be called the Braves. I think this is neat because the Braves will be truly unique in being the only team that owns all of their affiliates.
cbwilk - February 9, 2012
The WBs
This is sort of poignant because it still stands for the Wilmington Braves, and it’s also an underground nod to such classic WB television such as Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill.
Aw screw it, call them Dawson’s Braves, and I’m moving to Wilmington, I don’t care what happens to Atlanta.
royhobbs - February 9, 2012
royhobbs doesn’t wanna wait…for his life to be over…
cbwilk - February 9, 2012
They may want the “Braves” in the name for marketing. Instant name recognition will help convince people to drive the distance some will have to for the games.
I’m psyched for you Roy and my state for this to happen.
NCChopper - February 9, 2012
What about
The WIlmington Sailors? It’ll be a nod to the history of the area and I remember spending many a summer afternoon running around on the USS North Carolina as a kid.
Chapel420 - February 9, 2012
let Mandalay make the marketing decisions
The Braves’ partner in the Wilmington venture, Peter Guber’s Mandalay Baseball Properties, should be trusted to make all decisions related to marketing, including naming the team.
MBP owns and operates the Dayton Dragons and Frisco RoughRiders, two of the top attendance leaders in MiLB. The Dragons have sold out every home game in their history and are in the top 25 in merchandise sales.
JimK - February 9, 2012
The Wilmington Low-Country Braves...
TBuzz - February 9, 2012
Hillcats
They’ve had that name since ‘95. It comes from the fact that Lynchburg’s nickname is “The Hill City”.
Everything you ever wanted to know Lynchburg’s Carolina League history…but were afraid to ask.
Sam Jethroe - February 9, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Talking Chop to post a comment.