Texas League: RockHounds named Texas League Organization of the Year

If Midland tried to land a Texas League baseball team today, Tom Kayser said there’s no way it would happen.

Kayser, the league’s longtime president, said the Midland market would be viewed as too small to support a Double-A franchise.

Fortunately for Midland, it’s had a Texas League team for 40 years. And the RockHounds have proven that a minor league franchise can not only survive in West Texas, but thrive.

The RockHounds, after setting a franchise attendance record this season, were named Texas League Organization of the Year on Tuesday for the second time in 10 years and fourth time overall.

“Midland’s just an unusual, special market,” Kayser said.

The RockHounds, despite finishing with their worst overall record since becoming an Oakland A’s affiliate in 1999, drew a club-record 308,810 fans to Citibank Ballpark.

That number ranked seventh among the eight Texas League teams but was impressive to Kayser, considering Midland’s population was 111,147 in the 2010 census.

“I think their performance this year, among all of their peers, is pretty spectacular,” Kayser said. “They weathered literally heat and fire this year and still sold over 308,000 tickets, which in that market, is about (three times more) than there are people. I’m not sure I thought they’d ever go over the 300,000 mark. As good as they are, I just didn’t know it was possible.”

RockHounds general manager Monty Hoppel said he’s proud the team’s attendance has grown, which bucks a trend in minor league baseball. Hoppel said most teams’ attendance declines after the “honeymoon” stage in a new ballpark, whereas the RockHounds have drawn more fans the last two years than they did during Citibank Ballpark’s first two seasons in 2002 and 2003.

Hoppel credits the RockHounds’ success to a strong economy in the Midland-Odessa region and organizational stability. Owners Miles Prentice and Bob Richmond purchased the team 21 years ago, and Hoppel came to Midland the year before that.

Radio announcer Bob Hards just finished his 20th season with the RockHounds, assistant general manager Jeff VonHolle and business manager Eloise Galvan have been with the team for 18 years, and assistant general managers Ray Fieldhouse and Jamie Richardson joined the organization 15 years ago.

“Minor league baseball teams are kind of hit and miss,” Hoppel said. “But with our consistency and commitment to the community, we’ve managed to be profitable and invest a lot of money back into the ballpark and some of the other things we do.”

Hoppel said the RockHounds, whose lease at Citibank Ballpark runs through 2032, also have expanded their operations. They host concerts, such as the Dierks Bentley performance on Sept. 17, and cross promote the Premier Development League soccer team, the West Texas United Sockers, under the same ownership.

In January, Hoppel said the City of Midland awarded the RockHounds a contract to handle event booking, sales, marketing and operations at both their ballpark and adjacent Grande Communications Stadium. They’ve also made recent upgrades to Citibank Ballpark, which has been nicknamed “Rocky Town” as part of a promotional theme Kayser went out of his way to praise.

“I feel like we have everybody’s wish list,” said Hoppel, comparing the RockHounds to other minor league franchises. “We have a great relationship with the city, great fans and support, and great staff and ownership. We’ve got ownership that’s really committed to this community, and the community’s really responded.”

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