Stoves heat two Travs’ factions

Russ Meeks, president of the Travelers executive committee, says he’s hearing mostly positive feedback on the minor-league baseball team’s new management team.
Russ Meeks, president of the Travelers executive committee, says he’s hearing mostly positive feedback on the minor-league baseball team’s new management team.

— More than 200 people filed into the Embassy Suites in west Little Rock on Thursday night and sipped beer and cocktails while waiting to listen to members of the Los Angeles Angels front office, the new manager of the Arkansas Travelers and a former New York Yankees great.

The sold out gathering was the Travelers’ annual “Hot Stove” event, meant for fans and members of the community to mingle and get ready for the coming baseball season.

Angels assistant General Manager Scott Servais spoke, as did current Angels outfielder and former Trav Peter Bourjos, new Travs Manager Tim Bogar and former Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson.

“This is a bigger group than we’ve had before,” said Russ Meeks, president of the Travs executive committee. “We’re fortunate that everything worked out so well.”

At about the same time, a group of about 100 people that included baseball fans, Travelers shareholders and former team employees gathered at Reno’s Argenta Cafe, which sits on North Main Street in North Little Rock about three blocks away from Dickey-Stephens Park where the Travs play, at an event dubbed “Hotter Stove.”

There, the group, which organizer John Crow expected to be around 200 people by the end of the night, met out of protest of sorts of the current direction of the Angels’ Class AA minor league team that has played in North Little Rock since Dickey-Stephens Park was opened in 2007.

The overlapping events reflect a feud between Meeks and a faction of fans that began when the six-man executive committee unanimously voted in November to fire two front-office employees, General Manager Pete Laven and David Kay, who was assistant general manager for tickets.

Crow said some were gathered at Reno’s because the Travs moved the annual “Hot Stove” event to the Embassy Suites and charged a $20 fee that came with dinner and featured speakers.

The “Hot Stove” had been held at the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce the last several years, and was free to the public.

“They ruined the spirit of what the ‘Hot Stove’ was,” said Crow, a former Travs season ticket holder who owns 107 Liquor in Sherwood and a former advertiser.

Crow’s event provided free beer that he paid for, hot dogs and popcorn and live music.

Meeks said the “Hot Stove” was organized by his new staff, led by General Manager Paul Allen, in an effort to “do something different.” He said the decision to serve dinner and the need for more space was the reason for the change in location.

“The staff came up with the idea, set all this up,” he said.

Meeks said he was aware of Crow’s event, but he didn’t know details or what their plans were. He also said he wished those who classify themselves as Travelers fans would have supported the team’s function, instead of attending one that is separate from the club.

“The fans are here. There are people that say they are fans that may or may not be. But everybody here is a fan,” Meeks said. “... You’ve got to question if they’re really fans or not. I mean, if they’re fans, they’re helping the team. They’re helping the guys trying to sell, they’re helping people having a good season, they’re excited about it, they support something like this.”

Crow, who said he has not been asked to advertise with the Travs this year and said he doesn’t expect to be asked to book concerts in the stadium like he has in the past, said those gathered at his event were there because they care about the Travelers and its direction.

“No self-respecting Travs fan feels good about paying $20 to go to a west Little Rock hotel and listen to [that],” Crow said. “There’s no diminished love of the Travelers here. In fact, there are fans who are just as passionate, or more passionate, or they wouldn’t have shown up.”

Meeks said he’s aware of some fan disgruntlement since the executive committee fired Laven and Kay without immediate explanation. But Meeks said he’s heard mostly positive things since promoting Allen, who was chosen over five other finalists, to general manager earlier this month. Allen has worked with the Travelers since 2007, and served as director of sales most recently.

Meeks declined to comment on a reason for the November firings, but said he feels the direction of the club is solid.

“We made a decision based on some areas that we felt were of concerns,” Meeks said. “There were some specifics. We wouldn’t make a change like that if we didn’t have a good reason. And we had a lot of good reasons.”

Sports, Pages 23 on 02/01/2013

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