Call it like it is! It's a ball park!

For the last week, the News-Supress has been asking readers to comment on plans to build a baseball facility at Pershing Park on West Beach and whether readers think it is "realistic" that it will take the estimated $1 to $3 million city officials say it will take to build it.

Why do they insist on calling it a "stadium"? This 1,200 seat facility is a ball park. Why evoke images of Dodger Stadium with the public like it will be some kind of a behemoth seen from the Riviera when early plans call for a small facade, a media box and just 1,200 stadium seats?

Why are the questioning the costs when there are no official budgets or plans as of yet? Matching the word stadium and the question whether $1 to $3 million is "realistic" -- makes this a leading question.

They ask about transparency of process and there isn't even a written proposal as of yet. It is then that we should be making comments and figuring out neighborhood and environmental impacts. The editors of the News-Press forget that this is an idea which has a lot of community support -- but it is not on paper as of yet.

How can they or their readers comment on more than the idea itself without something to refer to? Let's see what Marty "The Slugger" Blum and the council come up with. As for cost, the city can't bear all of the cost -- this will have to be a partnership with contributions from the community to be successful.

Oh yeah -- I'd show you the actual text but the News-Press doesn't give you access on-line unless you have a subscription.

Let's play ball!