A rare bird

Minor league baseball's resurgence has been fueled by people trying to build better mouse traps: fancy new stadiums, zany nicknames and hats, wacky promotions.

Memphis Redbirds president and general manager Dave Chase has just one of those three at his disposal -- the 4-year-old AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis.

But the Redbirds, a Class AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, have a unique way of making their baseball team part of the community. The team and the stadium are owned and operated by the Memphis Redbirds Baseball Foundation, making them the only not-for-profit team and facility in the country.

The foundation currently funds two youth programs in Memphis to the tune of $600,000 per year. That community impact is expected to increase into the millions of dollars annually when the debt on the stadium is retired.

"Minor league teams say they give back to the community, but mostly it's lip service," Chase said Friday at the Southeast Missouri Press Association meeting on the campus of Southeast Missouri State. "Free tickets for Little League teams is not giving back, because they see each ticket as $7.50 at the concession stand."

Programs to help the community

The Redbirds implemented an RBI program to return baseball to the inner city and a STRIPES program, which brought middle school baseball and softball back after public middle schools in Memphis could no longer afford them.

Chase, who worked with minor league teams and was the publisher of Baseball America -- considered the authority on minor league baseball -- for several years, was lured to Memphis by Kristi and Dean Jernigan, who founded the Redbirds Foundation in 1998. Their vision included the state-of-the-art ballpark in downtown Memphis, which opened in 2000 and included 10 percent of public money, and a museum, "The National Pastime: A Celebration of Baseball In America."

Chase came to Memphis to work on the museum project but has been sidetracked by running the team.

The Redbirds put an emphasis on "fans first," he said, believing that the entire ballpark experience should be positive.

"Anything bad that happens from the driveway to the time you get to the ballpark is the Redbirds' fault," he said.

With that in mind, the team has a one-hour pregame radio show that includes traffic reports. The stadium includes a playground and a picnic area -- the bells and whistles that draw families to the park -- but limits on-the-field promotions to maintain the integrity of the playing field.

The Redbirds, who have been No. 2 behind Sacramento in minor league attendance each year since 2000, see their way as a model for other minor league teams.

"We have an obligation nationally as well as in Memphis," Chase said. "I challenge our people to see things in a bigger way."