The Reno Aces showed off their brand new stadium and brand new team for the first time Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday marked Media Day for Reno’s first-year AAA franchise and nothern Nevada’s media were given a tour of Aces Ballpark as construction crews put the finishing touches on the 6,500-seat stadium.

Aces players were also in attendance and got to work out after the media tour and an interview session.

It’s unclear how competitive the Aces, the Arizona Diamondback’s AAA affiliate, will be this season, but after Tuesday’s tour I was impressed with team’s facilities.

In addition, to the 6,500 fixed seats at the ballpark, there is plenty of room for fans to move around. Stadium capacity is 9,100 as there are countless areas designated for fans to stand and watch or enjoy the game from a picnic table or the grassy berm area in right field. Fans with a general admission ticket can bring blankets and lawn chairs to view games from the berm.

No seat is all that far away. Really, there’s not a bad seat in the house.

An Aces tour guide showed off one of the 20 suites at the ballpark. Each suite has 12 outdoor seats as well as an indoor area that features catered food, a fridge and a television. Unfortunatley, if you’re looking to get in on a ‘Suite Deal,’ you’re probably out of luck as our guide was quick to point out all 20 have been sold out for the season.

In addition to the 20 suites, there is a club suite, which can be rented out for groups that has an adjacent public bar. Outside the club suite — this one down the left-field line — is another area designated for groups that can also reserved.

A third group area is in center field, above the bullpens. This area, along with an area behind home plate, even has padded stadium seats. According to multiple tour guides Tuesday, group areas that are not reserved on game days will be open as general admission.

Underneath the stadium are the team facilities and two batting cages. That’s somewhat rare as more than a handful of Major League parks still only have one underground indoor batting cage.

The stadium is in place. The team is in place. All that’s needed now is a loyal fan base. This is what I question. Will Reno support a AAA baseball franchise? At this point I’m pretty pessimistic. I’d like to see it work and see Reno have a viable AAA team for many years to come. However, if you held a gun to my head and made me place a bet, I’d bet against the Aces still playing downtown by 2013.

Still, there are a lot of people, who have spent a lot of money and say the Aces in Reno will work.

I hope they’re right, but Reno has had Minor League Baseball in the past. It’s had a highly successful, at times Top 25-caliber, basketball program at the University of Nevada. None of these have been or are as well suppported as they should be for a town with no major professional sports franchise.

Sure, fans will turn out in droves on Opening Night, but that’s because it’s the cool thing to do, not because they’re passionate baseball fans. It’s the long-term attendance figures I’m curious about. How many fans will be at the stadium on a windy night in September? And more importantly, how many fans will be there the third week of a cold April in 2011?

I just don’t believe Reno is a good sports town. Time will tell. We’ll see if this works and if it’s fiscally feasible for the ownership group beyond the initial two years.

The Aces open their season Friday at Salt Lake City. After road series against Salt Lake and Colorado Springs, the aces return home for their first game April 17, also against Salt Lake.

Good luck Aces and “Play Ball!”



Dan Eckles is the Sparks Tribune’s sports editor. He can be reached via email at - deckles@dailysparkstribune.com