JACKSON, Wyo. — On Monday, President and CEO of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce Rick Howe asked local government officials to approve a joint letter standing in opposition to a professional baseball game in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). On Thursday, the senders received a response from Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred.
The correspondence comes after the Washington Post reported that National Park Service (NPS) Deputy Director Frank Lands had visited GTNP to scout possible locations for a ballpark. County Commissioner Luther Propst was contacted to give a comment for the article, which he originally thought was an “elaborate prank.” The local government’s letter outlined local concerns with a potential stadium and event of MLB proportions. Local officials agreed that a baseball stadium could have rippling effects on ecological health, wildlife, and visitor experience, while park resources could be strained by vehicle traffic, large-scale construction and even temporary infrastructure.
“Teddy Roosevelt is rolling in his grave right now, this is so counter to anything that national parks are supposed to represent, so counter to the very mission of the national park,” Board of County Commissioners (BCC) Chair Mark Newcomb said during Teton County’s meeting. He later added, “We have to have a unified voice in opposing this.”
The letter was unanimously approved by the BCC and the Jackson Town Council. Howe confirmed to Buckrail that all 17 of the Chamber’s board members also approved the correspondence. The letter was sent separately to the Secretary of the Interior Department Doug Burgum and to Manfred.
An Oct. 1 response from Manfred addresses Mayor Arne Jorgensen, Newcomb, and Howe directly. Manfred begins by saying: “I feel compelled to provide some information that has not been publicly reported.” The letter goes on to describe the various efforts the MLB has made to play regular season games in parts of the country that are not within driving distance of a stadium, including Fort Bragg in North Carolina; a Negro League stadium in Birmingham, Alabama; and the Field of Dreams stadium in Iowa.
“MLB has no formal plan to play a game in Grand Teton National Park,” Manfred wrote. “Our team was conducting initial due diligence on many potential sites when this story was reported, and we had made no decision on the feasibility of staging a game in Grand Teton National Park. We also had not reached the stage in our due diligence in which we evaluated environmental impact, or spoke to members of the community to solicit their views — steps that would have certainly been part of any process should it have moved forward. That said, since the story was reported, it has become clear the local community does not want us to continue evaluating Grand Teton National Park as a potential site. We obviously would not bring a game to a community that has concerns about the venue, and will not continue to evaluate Grand Teton National Park as a potential site.”
