Jackson Free Press

Support local baseball! The Senators' first home game is May 12 at 10:30 a.m. against San Angelo at Smith-Wills. (Click below for full schedule.)

The Jackson Senators have been a success on the field and off since they moved into Smith-Wills Stadium in 2002. But whether they will return for 2005 appears to be in doubt. The Senators reached the Central League championship series in 2002 and won the league title in 2003. The team drew 91,571 fans at home in 2003. The team reportedly lost $380,000 in its first two seasons, but earlier this year, a group of local investors, including former Jackson AA franchise owner Con Maloney, bought the Senators from a Texas group for approximately $600,000.

Then Pearl lured the Atlanta Braves' Class AA team from Greenville, S.C. Last month the Braves announced that the team, which will be called the Mississippi Braves, would begin playing in a new $25 million, privately funded stadium. The new team will almost certainly draw baseball fans who haven't been attending Senators games.

Suddenly the future of the Senators, an independent team not affiliated with Major League Baseball, is in question. The team has a contract with the city of Jackson to play at Smith-Wills through 2005. Senators officials have said that they plan to honor that contract.

Work has reportedly begun on the new stadium in Pearl and Braves officials insist the stadium will be ready in time for the start of the 2005 season. However, The Clarion-Ledger reported that Tim Bennett, whose company is one of the leaseholders for the new Pearl stadium, has offered to buy out the last year of the Senators' lease for $50,000. The Senators' ownership group has not publicly responded to the offer.

Meanwhile, the Senators will play this season in a Central League that has already seen some changes. The Alexandria, La., and Rio Grande, Texas, franchises folded and the Ozark/Springfield, Mo., Mountain Ducks flew south to become the Pensacola (Fla.) Pelicans.

Until the Braves' announcement, the biggest change for the Senators appeared to be that they had a new home on the radio. This year WPBQ 1240 AM, which recently converted to an all-sports format, will broadcast the games. Ben Ingram will be the play-by-play announcer.

The Senators open this season on the road in Texas at Coastal Bend on Thursday. Their first home game is Monday, May 10, against San Angelo.

The Senators' manager, Dan Shwam, is back for his third season. And several key players from last year's team return, so the Senators figure to be a contender for the league title again. But the biggest questions about the Senators won't be answered on the field. Meanwhile, here's the home schedule:

May 10–12 San Angelo
May 14–16 Amarillo
May 24–26 Edinburg
May 28–30 Shreveport
June 7-10 Coastal Bend
June 11-14 Fort Worth
June 18-21 Pensacola
July 2-5 San Angelo
July 6-8 Amarillo
July 16-18 Edinburg
July 22-26 Shreveport
Aug. 2-4 Coastal Bend
Aug. 6-9 Fort Worth
Aug. 16-17 Pensacola