My notes from the January 14th Ron Fowler interview. The bullets:
Ron Fowler interview with Scott and BR (MP3)
- Scott Kaplan asks Fowler if the All-Star Game was awarded to San Diego because the Padres named a plaza in Petco Park after Bud Selig.
"It had nothing to do with that. Frankly if we would have thought about it a bit more we would have done something inside the offices versus the outside because we realized the community did not understand the significance of some of the things the commissioner did, but there was no quid pro quo."
The Padres submitted a very compelling bid to the commissioners office. There's a lot of things going on in the summer. They had to work with the Convention Center and the Mayor's Office. There were eight or nine different efforts part of the bid. It was a private/public partnership that worked effectively for San Diego. - If the Mayor asked Fowler to help find a solution for the Chargers stadium, he would even if there might be a conflict of interest. "We need to keep the Chargers here."
- A formal presentation for the 2016 All-Star Game was done in November. Major League Baseball came to town during the Winter Meetings and scouted the area. The commissioner said the Padres submitted the best bid. "We're just pleased as heck that we were awarded it."
- Fowler thinks that the Padres would have gotten the All-Star game even without the buzz created around the Padres off-season acquisitions, but it didn't hurt. The Winter Meetings were a smashing success, which played a part. Fowler wants two or three more here. The ballpark improvements also contributed. Mike Dee, Ron Fowler and Peter Seidler are working really closely with the MLB on various projects and various committees as well.
- Kaplan asks if this will be the year that Padres fans outnumber Dodger fans in Petco Park. "We would love to have the darker blue color on the caps of the fans that come to the games." The Padres are looking to reengage fans, along with Preller's improvements.
- Major League Baseball appreciates the business perspective the team brings to baseball.
- Being Chairman of the Padres is a dream come true.
- Fowler won't bet against A.J. Preller getting a couple more things done before Spring Training.