League president likes BG's en

Minor League Baseball president Pat O'Conner oversees 160 franchises, making it tough to see a specific city very often.

Still, when the schedule was set up to make a second visit in as many years to Bowling Green Ballpark, O'Conner was eager to make the most of the opportunity.

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O'Conner attended the Hot Rods game against Lake County (Ohio) on Friday night - 16 months after attending the first-ever game at Bowling Green Ballpark - and came away from the experience impressed with the direction of the franchise.

"One of the most interesting things to follow is how a park matures," O'Conner said. "You get into them and they are never quite done. I always tell people that it is like a good pair of shoes: After you walk in them a while, they start to feel a little better. Seeing the office building finish, seeing this crowd, it's very encouraging. I have no concerns. They are doing a great job. I love this ballpark and I enjoy Bowling Green."

O'Conner said he was most impressed with the energy of the Hot Rods staff and a paid attendance of 6,290, the second largest crowd in franchise history. The largest crowd was for the franchise's inaugural game on April 17, 2009, when 6,866 fans filled the park to standing-room-only capacity to welcome the Hot Rods.

"The ballpark in a community this size is going to take on the identity and reflect the community," O'Conner said. "(Hot Rods GM and CEO Brad Taylor) has been around long enough to listen. I think you're on to something good here.

"... What's happened here is after people sampled, they are buying in even better than they did last year. The energy level is very encouraging. You can't manufacture this. We wish we could bottle it. It's all positive signs. I think this franchise is going to have an extended honeymoon."

Bowling Green is one of the many franchises that is enjoying the success of minor league baseball, despite tough economic times. After five straight years of record-breaking attendance, minor league attendance only suffered a 2.9 percent drop in 2009, drawing more than 41 million patrons.

O'Conner credits the success to franchises adhering to a winning model that continues to attract nightly.

"We're affordable family entertainment in good times and bad," O'Conner said. "People recognize that and what happens in economic struggles is they look more for value. They have to press more for value in hard economic times and our model holds up. They know it is there and they can count on it."

The success also stems from a loyal fan base, he said.

"Even in the worst of economic times, people want to recreate," O'Conner said. "They want to do something together. It all goes back to the product. People know what is there and can count on it. It's not threatening in any way and people react to that."

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While the market for minor league baseball continues to thrive, the sport isn't without its problems. Steroids has been a big topic in baseball, especially at the minor league level. O'Conner's teams have benefited from mandatory drug testing implemented by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig more than a decade ago, he said.

The hard stance began with a ban on spitless tobacco and has moved on to steroid testing, and now HGH testing.

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