ColumbusSports.com : Your place to stay informed and talk about the sports scene and sports teams in and around Columbus.

Filled with Indians fans?

According to this morning's Dispatch, ticket prices for the Clippers new home at Huntington Park that opens next year will be very much in line with current prices, and well within "good bargain" territory for most families. That's good news for all the Indians fans that will fill the shiny new Arena District ballpark in 2009.

Although nothing can be officially announced until September (when the minor league season ends), all signs point to Cleveland moving their Buffalo Triple A affiliate to our fair city. It'll be a real marketing coup for the Indians over the Reds, as the long term effect of having their main minor league team in Columbus will eventually draw a lot more fans into the Cleveland fold.

It's also interesting to ponder, in a town historically fairly evenly split between Cleveland and Cincinnati sports fans, whether a closer association and increased fan base with the Indians will eventually have an impact on the fan bases for the Browns and Bengals too. Will kids growing up in Columbus as Indians fans also be more likely to root for the Browns over the Bengals? It may be easy to think so, but assuming that the Clippers do become Cleveland's Triple A affiliate, it'll take much more than just having the team here to turn that into a truly successful new market.

Given the willingness of Cleveland's front office to spend money on their minor league system, and for the most part the wise choices the front office makes in running the team overall, I'll be very surprised if they don't come into Columbus with a strong presence not just at Huntington Park, but with advertising dollars overall and in supporting other baseball teams and organizations in the area, from T-ball up through the minor leagues. If they don't, they'll be swinging and missing like Johnny Peralta at a low and away 2 strike curve ball

Tags: cleveland indians, columbus clippers