The Calgary Dawgs are what the kids call a “wagon” in the Western Canadian Baseball League.
Fresh off winning their third-consecutive league title thanks to a walk-off home run from Connor Crowson in game three of the best-of-three series with the Moose Jaw Miller Express, the Dawgs will be looking to four-peat in 2025.
While the on-field product has been stellar in recent years, it’s the off-field developments that continue to turn heads.
The summer collegiate team continues to add new amenities to Foothills Stadium, while attracting a league-high average of 10,000 fans per game.
They have also built a very strong high school academy program, which is the envy of the Canadian baseball world, producing high-quality college players who are going onto successful professional careers of their own.
In fact, the success has many wondering if a return of professional baseball to Calgary is possible. Sources tell us that a handful of teams have inquired about the city’s love of baseball, with some very impressed with the improvements made to the stadium.
And then … I woke up.
SO MANY QUESTIONS
Most of what I just wrote about is actually true – except the location, of course.
You have to wonder a little bit if baseball people around Calgary don’t look at Okotoks with a sense of jealousy, wondering about “what if.”
What if the city didn’t try to keep chasing the professional baseball dream?
What if they had given the Dawgs a fighting chance in Foothills versus allowing the Vipers to run the show?
What if they offered up some desirable land instead of forcing them right out of the city?
I think you get the point.
Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but what the Dawgs have done in Okotoks is nothing short of incredible and is a testament to the vision they have had from the beginning to build a baseball paradise just south of Calgary’s city limits.
So while the city mourns the loss of Foothills Stadium as three excavators went to work over the past week in demolishing the neglected piece of baseball history, it has also opened up some old wounds about “what could have been.”
And what’s to come.
A STATE OF DISREPAIR
As Ian Wilson and I have been doing the rounds with media interviews over the last few days, one of the most common questions we’ve been asked is some variation of, “Do you think we’ll ever see high-end baseball back in Calgary city limits?”
It’s a hard question to answer because it provides an answer not everyone wants to hear: no.
As the forever-optimist, I do want to say “yes.” I’ve actually gone so far as to say, “I’ll never say never.”
I just don’t see it.
For a city of 1.5 million people, the fact that we don’t have a high-end baseball facility is appalling.
Back in 1977 when Russ Parker was getting set for the first minor league team to arrive in the city, the Calgary Cardinals, the lack of baseball infrastructure was obvious.
“It’s disgusting, for a city of 500,000, to have only one good ball park,” said Ron McCartney, the manager of the Calgary Spikes of the Southern Alberta Junior Baseball League, in the Calgary Herald.
That was nearly 50 years and a million people ago.
And now, no good ball parks.
AFFILIATE BASEBALL ISN’T COMING BACK
When asked why I don’t think professional baseball will come back to Calgary, my answer actually boils down to three main points versus my gut feeling.
- Location
- Weather
- The All-Mighty Dollar
When it comes to location, this is two-fold.
One is that we are nowhere near a Major League Baseball team, who have opted for markets that are nearby to help them usher players between the bigs and their top affiliates. On top of that, Minor League Baseball has been contracting as they try to save as much money as possible. So why spend a bunch of money to fly players to and from Alberta’s largest city?
On the weather front, many people would be surprised to know (or need to be reminded) that the Calgary Cannons’ home opener in their inaugural season was delayed for four days because of a snowstorm. That’s not an ideal situation when teams want their prospects getting reps, not sitting in chilly spring or early fall conditions.
And finally, the minor league teams of yesteryear in Calgary, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge all left in 2002-2004 because, in part, the Canadian dollar just wasn’t performing well against its U.S. counterpart. That meant costs were up in a big way, and in this volatile (and political) world economy, it’s hard to believe anyone wants to risk having it all fall apart – especially when they would need to bring along a fat wallet to pay for a new stadium.
IS CALGARY A BASEBALL TOWN?
Another common question asked over the past week or so has been about Calgary as a “baseball town.” Could we support a professional team if it were to set up shop?
Interestingly, I do think the answer here is “yes.”
With a population base of over 1.5 million people with a variety of backgrounds, now would actually be a great time to think about setting up a ball team and new stadium in Calgary.
All you need to do is look at the success of the Cavalry FC soccer team and the Calgary Surge basketball team to show that it’s not just a hockey or football town, and if you can find a way to make it an affordable night out, I have no doubt people would flock to see high-level baseball.
However, the expectations on what that actually entails need to be realistic.
Fans and city officials have to stop dreaming of having the Pacific Coast League or even the Pioneer League come back. Maybe – and this is a big maybe – there’s someone with interest in bringing independent baseball back. Winnipeg has the American Association’s Goldeyes, so maybe something similar could be in the cards at some point down the line.
The best bet would probably be summer collegiate baseball like the Western Canadian Baseball League or the West Coast League, which does have the Edmonton Riverhawks.
But again, it all boils down to money and who might have the resources to build a new stadium and hedge their bets that it will work here. They would also have to find a decent location to build it, as the site of the old Foothills Stadium is going to be used up pretty quickly.
I always say that Okotoks has cornered the market in “the Bow River and south,” so now you’re looking at trying to build something to appease the north market. And we’ve heard over the last couple of years that there’s interest in Airdrie bringing a WCBL team to its city, which could take that north-side market.
It’s apparent that time might be running out for the city of Calgary to jump on board with summer collegiate baseball, too.
And suddenly, high-level baseball in city limits seems like nothing but a dream.
The impact of losing Foothills Stadium has had an immediate impact on youth baseball as well. The Calgary Bucks have used and were supposed to be using Foothills as their home field this season. After the stadium itself was demolished, the City was supposed to renovate the field itself for teams to be able to use it this season. We are in mid June and little if nothing has been done. The Bucks play home games all over the province and have almost zero field practice time. Families have paid large amounts to participate and have a field to use and the City of Calgary continues to show where baseball sits on its list of priorities.
From conversations we are having with many, there is a large interest in baseball in north Calgary. Facilities are needed. Higher level ball is needed at this end of town.