As most recently demonstrated by the New York Yankees’ acquisition of pitching ace Roger Clemens, pro baseball is an industry of big deals, high hopes and swift shifts of fate. But the same dynamics that play out on the field also apply to the field itself and the communities that host major and minor league pro ball – like Portland, home of the Sea Dogs, the Boston Red Sox’ AA-League farm team.

A multi-million-dollar deal may determine whether the Sox maintain their affiliation with the Sea Dogs. The minor league team wants a new clubhouse at city-owned Hadlock Field, and the Portland City Council’s willingness to spend nearly $3 million to build it could solidify the Sox’ ties to the Dogs until 2012 and keep the Dogs in town ’til 2028 – by which time the age-proof Clemens, one assumes, will have hung up his spikes for good.

But as with all these big baseball deals, nothing is guaranteed. Clemens may or may not save the struggling Yanks; the Sox may strike an affiliation agreement with another team in another town whether the new clubhouse is built or not; and the City Council may decide the public’s money is better spent on road repairs and parks improvements than a new locker room at the ballpark this year.

The deal before the City Council is this: The city borrows $1.7 million to construct the new clubhouse under right field (including interest payments over its 20-year term, the bond would cost taxpayers nearly $3 million). In exchange, the Dogs sign a new, 20-year lease at Hadlock that includes gradual increases in rent, and agree to take over field maintenance operations.

On paper, the deal is a wash: between the rent hikes and the savings realized once the Dogs pay to mow the grass, the city would basically break even. But if the City Council dedicates $1.7 million for the Dogs’ clubhouse this year, that means other public improvement projects – for roads, sidewalks and parks – could be delayed.

That’s because the council has a self-imposed cap on its yearly borrowing, committing itself to bond no more than $10 million worth of projects every budget season. A new clubhouse at Hadlock this year could bump other projects off the list, making for a bumpier ride to the stadium along pothole-dotted public streets. (Councilors could decide to exceed their voluntary $10 million cap, but with another sizeable property tax increase on the horizon, that’s not likely.)

Portland’s commitment to the clubhouse project might convince the Sox to renew their franchise deal with the Dogs next year. In pitching the deal to city officials, Portland attorney Bill Troubh, representing the Dogs, pointed out that the Sox’ affiliation is coveted by minor league franchises all over the country – what fans refers to as Red Sox Nation. A minor league team’s ties to the storied Sox promises to boost attendance, especially when a Sox star heads down to the minors to rehab an injury.

Big-league rules, however, stipulate that farm-team affiliations can only be made for four-year terms. The Sox adopted the Dogs in 2002, and struck a four-year agreement with Portland in 2004. Though the Sox can’t guarantee the arrangement will be continued next year, city officials have gotten the hint that’s more likely to happen if they shell out the cash for the clubhouse.

So Portlanders find themselves in George Steinbrenner’s shoes. They know the numbers involved in this deal, but it’s the intangibles, the unknowns, that make it risky.

Most city councilors seem inclined to accept the deal, but several are still holding out for more information. A “yes” vote by a super-majority of seven of the nine councilors will be necessary to approve the bond. Their deliberations on this deal should be fun to watch as they sort out the city budget in the coming weeks. Too bad they don’t sell peanuts and popcorn in Council Chambers.

For more on these stories and other Portland news, visit The Bollard, a free, online publication found at www.thebollard.com

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