Reusse: Midway Stadium's days are numbered

The anti-stadium sentiments that carried sway for so long in the Twin Cities have been replaced by a building boom that started with the opening of St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center in the fall of 2000.

The idea that the public will be coming up with roughly a half-billion dollars (plus interest) to assist in the Avian Abattoir being built to further enrich Vikings owner Zygi Wilf might rank at the top of the shock meter for some.

Not all. From here, the shock of shocks came when Mike Veeck, the president of what had become a tired little independent baseball team, was able to convince the politicians to provide him with a $63 million (plus interest) ballyard in downtown St. Paul.

For now, it's being called the Lowertown ballpark, as Veeck and the Saints search for a corporation to put its name on the place.

Ryan Construction is hustling to get it ready for the Saints to play a couple of exhibitions before the mid-May opener of the 2015 American Association season. When that's a certainty, demolition will start on Midway Stadium, a ballpark that dates to 1982 and has been the Saints' home since inception in 1993.

As of Sunday, there will be seven games remaining for the Saints at Midway, and perhaps a few more in the playoffs.

Among the traditions on the Saints' schedule has been an afternoon game on a weekday in August, in order to fill Midway with youth groups. This took place Thursday, and it came up as one of those glorious days that Veeck had in mind when he started the Saints as an outdoor, low-cost alternative to the Twins and the Metrodome.

The feel in the adjacent parking lot was that of people skipping work to go to a ballgame, which is exactly the feel that Veeck imagined when he launched the Saints with Marvin Goldklang, Miles Wolff and others.

The timing of that launch proved to be fortunate, since the Saints were starting at the same time the Twins were entering a stretch of eight consecutive losing seasons.

Minnesota sports fans have a considerable appreciation for drinking on asphalt, and this desire was fulfilled with tailgating on Midway's adjacent, 500-vehicle parking lot.

The early years were marked by capacity crowds of over 5,000 and much media attention as to how quaintly great was the Saints experience. There were also players such as Darryl Strawberry, Leon Durham, Glenn Davis, Darryl Motley, J.D. Drew — even Jack Morris, briefly.

Veeck seemed never to run out of attention-grabbing ideas. Remember Ila Borders, the first female pitcher in men's professional baseball in 1997?

On Thursday, I was visiting with a group of regular attendees and mentioned the word "sex appeal'' — meaning Strawberry and others — to describe the first half-dozen years of the Saints.

"I've been going to games here since the start, and that's a good term for what has been missing … 'sex appeal,' " Bruce Hjerpe said. "It's still great to tailgate with friends, and to watch a professional game at affordable prices, but the team doesn't have the same pizazz.

"Midway wasn't as full for a few years [in the 2000s], and when the Twins moved outdoors … people we used to see all the time started going there.''

Ben Szeremeta tailgates with Hjerpe, and a branch of the St. Paul Quinlans, and others, and they drink Leinenkugel's and Pabst, not craft beers, and they cook chicken wings and brats, and wonder if the Lowertown ballpark will be as convenient as Midway has been for them.

"I'm sure the new ballpark is going to be great, but I'll miss Midway,'' Szeremeta said.

This is not a sentiment to be shared by the players, or the Saints' small office staff, or fans needing a bag of peanuts or a restroom break in the middle of a game.

The clubhouses are ridiculous. The office in the back of the stadium is even more hilarious as a work space.

George Tsamis, in his 12th season as manager, sat behind the desk in his cubbyhole in the home clubhouse before Thursday's game. Pitching coach Kerry Ligtenberg sat in a chair 3 feet away, meaning the manager's office was at capacity.

"I managed in Waterbury, Connecticut,'' Tsamis said. "That clubhouse was way worse. Really … way worse.

"This doesn't bother me, but I've also had a lot of players tell me that they wouldn't consider the Saints because our clubhouse was so terrible.

"Getting players should be easier, since we're going into the best ballpark in the league. I mean, it's new … it's got to be the best, right?''

For sure, the timing for Veeck and the Saints again appears to be impeccable. They are breaking out a new attraction — a boutique ballpark in St. Paul, the funky twin of Minneapolis — at the same time the Twins are in the tank.

Get your tickets now. The Lowertown ballpark, Veeck's greatest stunt yet, will be full for several summers, starting in 2015.

Patrick Reusse can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays on AM-1500. preusse@startribune.com