Miners working to boost the annual budget

MAT-SU — For the next several weeks, Pete Christopher will be a man on a mission.

The Mat-Su Miners general manager aims to raise $15,000 to help eliminate a shortage in the nonprofit organization’s 2008 budget.

“We need to cover all these inflated expenses,” Christopher said late last week, as he was running through the list of things that need to be done before the Miners take the field in June for the 2008 Alaska Baseball League.

Just like the average American family, Christopher said, the Miners organization is feeling the effects of rising costs.

One area that is particularly worrisome problem for the Miners is air fare.

Mat-Su is responsible for providing plane tickets for its players and support staff to travel from their respective home cities Outside to Alaska. At minimum, the Miners will cover the cost of air fare for four coaches, two radio and Internet broadcasters and at least 24 players. Of course the number of plane tickets will rise if the Miners have injury problems and replacement players are needed.

The team hosts the Miners Grand Slam Raffle annually as a fund-raiser with proceeds going primarily to the cost of air fare. In years past the Miners have raised about $17,000 from the raffle, Christopher said, but that total probably won’t cover the cost of air fare this season, due to the steadily rising costs for air travel.

The Miners are responsible for the exorbitant sum for air fare despite having a special deal with United Airlines in the past.

In addition to the air travel, the Miners also face rising costs in ground transportation. Normally the team rents a vehicle for the coaching staff to use, at a cost that can be as high as $4,000, but the Miners are thinking more toward the long term and hope to purchase another vehicle this year.

And speaking of travel, there’s also the costs of the team’s road trips. The Miners will go to Fairbanks this summer and the Kenai Peninsula twice. Christopher estimates a $10,000 cost for the seven-day trip in the Interior.

And if that isn’t enough, Christopher also has to keep in mind the potential of his team traveling to Wichita, Kan., for the National Baseball Congress World Series. The Miners competed in the tournament in 2004, and Mat-Su’s second-place finish cost the team about $23,000 Christopher said.

When Christopher can get past the headaches caused by the cost of travel, he can then think about other costs such as insurance (both vehicle and workman’s compensation), umpires fees, the coaching staff salaries, and last but not least, the cost of maintaining Hermon Brothers Field.

“It all adds up, all the expenses,” Christopher said. “I think we need the $15,000 just to give us a cushion.”

One thing that has made it easier for the longtime Valley ball club is the organization’s transition from a for-profit business to a nonprofit 501-C3. The Miners submitted the request to become a nonprofit agency to the federal government in August of 2006, and was granted final approval in June of last year. That designation has opened many doors for the Miners, and made it much easier for the team to apply for grants and seek federal and state money. Christopher said some businesses will only donate or advertise with nonprofit agencies.

As a nonprofit, Christopher said, his fund-raising goals will simply allow the team to pay its bills on time and afford to continue making

improvements.

When Christopher took the reigns of the team as general manager in 2003, the former baseball scout and longtime baseball man admitted times were kind of tough. When Christopher was named general manager, a small handful of volunteers had been running the team.

“It was tough. They paid their bills, but people had to wait sometimes,” Christopher said.

Even though Christopher often feels he has his work cut out for him, he also said the organization is moving in the right direction to get stronger.

Although, “Instead of things getting easier, they seem to get tougher,” Christopher admitted.

Christopher wants to see the Miners in the position in which the team can afford the unexpected expenses — things such as fixing a pluming problems at the field or buying that one extra plane ticket for an athlete that will fill a roster spot — and the team also hopes to also do things such as creating a college scholarship fund for the Valley’s young athletes.

Each organization in the six-team ABL has its own way of surviving, Christopher said. The Anchorage Bucs and Anchorage Glacier Pilots receive much of their funding from gaming — pull tabs.

The Bucs and Glacier Pilots also have retail outlets in Anchorage.

In Kenai, the Peninsula Oilers are partially funded by revenue from the local bingo parlor.

The Miners due see some revenue from gaming. The team shares a license with the Glacier Pilots.

“If it wasn’t for gaming the whole league would fold,” Christopher said.

And then there’s the Athletes in Action Fire, a squad affiliated with a self described sports ministry with teams in eight different spots. AIA charges athletes to play on its team. Christopher said playing for the AIA could cost an athlete anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000.

As Christopher pounds the pavement, continues to make business contacts and tries to give a boost to the Miners annual budget, he remains driven by a team and the support of a loyal base of fans that makes him proud.

“The great joy I have, the thing I find most satisfying, is the people,” Christopher said. “The crowds that we draw to our games. It makes it all worth while.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.