The Brantford Red Sox could soon be getting a boost from the city.
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Councilors, at a Tuesday committee meeting, voted to give the Intercounty Baseball League Team a $15,000 a year credit for three years starting in 2024. The decision will come up for approval at the Aug. 27 meeting of council.
The credit will be applied against fees the team incurs for using Arnold Anderson Stadium.
“The Brantford Red Sox have been here for 110 years and are currently going through a tough time as they rebuild themselves,” Coun. Richard Carpenter (Ward 4) said. “We weren’t able to give them any funding or breaks on fees because they were a for-profit.
“But they’re now a not-for-profit, creating a board of directors soon so we would like to give them some support for the next three years.”
Carpenter said the funding will help the Red Sox with the transition and keep them in the community.
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“We’ve provided a lot more support to the Brantford Bulldogs hockey team and I think we should provide some support in the form of waving some of these fees,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter, originally brought the resolution to council back in September. However, it was deferred until Tuesday’s meeting.
In his resolution, Carpenter said the team is still recovering from the economic setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
All councilors supported the resolution.
“This speaks to community culture and involvement,” Coun. Gino Caputo (Ward 2) said. “This is not a team that just started up a few years ago.
“This is a team that has a rich history.”
Caputo said the team appears to have lost something in recent years and probably needs to have a huge marketing effort to promote the team going forward.
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The city and the community needs to support the team’s efforts, Caputo said.
Founded in 1911, the Red Sox first played in the Canadian Baseball League before joining the Intercounty Baseball League in 1921.
The Red Sox have won 15 league championships including a run of six consecutive championships from 2008 to 2012 to set a league record. The team’s most recent championship came in 2013.
The Red Sox play two home games this weekend (Aug. 9-10) taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs at 8 pm Friday (Aug. 9) and the Kitchener Panthers at 2 pm Saturday (Aug. 10).
Both games are at Arnold Anderson Stadium.
The team currently sits in last place in the nine-team league with a win-loss record of 10-25.
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