Byline: Max Offen Sichtlich
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Stadium Announcement Imminent?
October 9, 2055
Sacramento Mad Pope owner Brian Dyer, Jr. noted today that he’d been in conversation with the team’s management about the idea of making some renovations to the Basilica at Muskrat Slough, the team’s home field. “We live in the best place on earth, and the park could be spruced up a little. I wouldn’t be averse to an increase if it meant the fans got a nicer place to spend their money in.”
Suggestions are that new GM Ron Collins has some ideas he wanted to focus on, things that could include both upgrading various seating opportunities and perhaps some field configuration changes. Of particular note was a section of seating that Collins suggested my be named the Dyer Dugout, something the owner was said to be fond of.
“These kinds of things aren’t cheap, though,” Dyer said. “And since the Popes are a major contributor to the Sacramento economic structure, not to mention its skyline, I think it’s only fair to ask the city to step up and see what they can do.”
There were apparently no suggestions on how the city might make up the cash, but some are saying that the plan currently is to raise the team’s budget, rumored to be $160 million, up to as high as $168 million next year, with hopes the city would kick in about the same.
The owner’s words seemed to catch some team officials askew, something that lends credence to the idea that inside the team’s offices Collins’s plan is apparently considered controversial, and that there exists a strong contingent that wants to maintain the Basilica’s ambience.
They aren’t the only ones.
“I appreciate the idea,” said Mayor Annie Mesh. “And while I’m willing to see what we can do, I admit I can’t see very far.”