Seacoast Mavericks to Play Ball at Leary Field

Seacoast Mavericks team officials heralded Monday as the greatest day in the two-year-old Futures Collegiate Baseball League franchise's two-year history when they announced they will call Portsmouth home.

Beginning with the 2013 season, the Mavericks will play all 27 of their home games at Leary Field and provide a fun, family entertainment experience that will include a team mascot, food vendors, music and, of course, baseball.

During a press conference at Demeters Steakhouse on Lafayette Road Monday afternoon, Mavericks principal and founder Dave Hoyt, said, “As the attendance at the games played at Leary Field during the 2012 season easily surpassed the turnout the Seacoast Mavericks received at Bert George Field in Rochester, the decision to reach out to the city to relocate the collegiate team was an easy one." 

Hoyt, who also owns who also owns the USA Training Center in Newington and the USA Mavericks Baseball Club, a youth program that supports over 120 baseball players in six age divisions, U12 through U18, also said the team is committed to giving back to the community.

"...In calling Leary Field our new home, we wanted to demonstrate how vested we were in this opportunity. As a result we have committed to over $30,000 of improvements and upgrades to Leary Field for the 2013 season.  These improvements will provide a better playing environment for all of the teams that call Leary home.” 

Hoyt also observed that the timing of the Mavericks decision to commit itself to Portsmouth is very good when one considers how much the baseball climate in the Seacoast has changed in the last 10 years. He noted that during the past decade, St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover won a state baseball championship. The Portsmouth Little League team also won a national title in 2006 and the Portsmouth High School Clippers baseball team accomplished three consecutive state championships along with a national record unbeaten streak of more than 84 games.

He said several Division 1, Division II and Division III baseball players at the college level are coming out of New Hampshire. He said the team's decision to base itself in Portsmouth and make Leary Field its home stadium came down to one simple point: "We did it because Portsmouth deserves it."

Hoyt said owning the Seacoast Mavericks "is never about the money." He said if the team can earn enough revenue to pay its bills and give back to the community and the program, it's all worth it.

Mavericks Commissioner Chris Hall promised that "Portsmouth is going to be part of this for a long time."

Portsmouth Mayor Eric Spear said he, too, is also excited about seeing the Seacoast Mavericks take the field in 2013 and can't wait for spring to come. "You know Portsmouth is on the radar when it comes to baseball," he said.

Mavericks President Mike Daboul indicated that the move to Portsmouth will enable the team to have a great facility in Leary Field and the $37,000 the team will invest in the ball park will be used to improve the grandstands, expand the dugouts and make other improvements.

“Last year our organization was able to play a handful of games at Leary Field. It was amazing to see how the collegiate baseball players responded to the environment that Leary provides. Whether talking with the younger fans from the dug-outs, or seeing the lighted steeple of the North Church over the center field fence, Leary Field is an amazing place to play and watch a baseball game,” Daboul said.

Compared to seeing the Red Sox at Fenway Park, ticket prices for Seacoast Mavericks games will be a real bargain for families. Daboul said tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for kids.

Doug Bates, president of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, said he is also excited to see the city get the FCBL team to call the city home because the home games will also be a boon to downtown restaurants and businesses given the fact that Leary Field is a short walk away.

In addition to the news that the Mavericks will call Portsmouth home, Daboul also announced the team will host a Hot Stove Baseball Dinner on Jan. 25 at the Portsmouth Harbor Events Center that will feature Boston Red Sox Catcher Jarrod Saltalamaccia and Tampa Bay Devil Rays Sam Fuld, a former University of New Hampshire player and New Hampshire native.

Daboul said VIP sponsorships are available and will include access to the team’s private suite for photos and autographs with Saltalamacchia and Fuld.  Tickets are now on sale for $80 with private tables of 10 available for $700. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. with dinner served at 7 p.m. and a live auction to follow.  There will also be a silent auction ongoing throughout the evening.

According to the Seacoast Mavericks web site, "the 30 player roster consists primarily of New England athletes currently playing college baseball at the Division 1, 2, or 3 levels. These players will be under the watchful eye of professional baseball scouts with the hope of being selected in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft."

The FCBL is comprised of teams located in Nashua (Silver Knights), Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. (Sharks), Torrington, Conn. (Titans),  North Shore, Mass. (Navigators), Brockton, Mass. (Rox), Pittsfield, Mass. (Suns), Old Orchard Beach, Maine (Raging Tides), and Wachusett, Mass. (Dirt Dawgs), according to the Mavericks web site.