Tulsa Drillers sold to team's general manager

Friday, March 3rd 2006, 10:12 am

By: News On 6

Baseball has a rich history in Tulsa, going back before statehood even. Now a new owner takes over for the Tulsa Drillers second century. General Manager Chuck Lamson has bought a majority share of the team.

News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says it has been 25 years since Lamson came to Tulsa from New Jersey as a promising minor-league pitcher and he's been here ever since. "When I first got here, I never had that in mind believe me; I was on my way to the big leagues, that was my thought." An elbow injury ended his baseball career, but he got his foot in the door of management. And has worked his way up the ranks.

So what are his druthers for the Drillers? We asked him about that persistent story about moving to Jenks. "Jenks did present us with something, it was not the right move for the Drillers at this point in time or even in the foreseeable future, but that doesn't mean that opportunities are not going to present themselves to us down the road."

Downtown Tulsa is another frequently mentioned spot for the Drillers to sink their bit. Here he mentions the excitement of Vision 2025 and says you see many mid-size cities doing well with downtown baseball. "I mean we can look down the turnpike at Oklahoma City and see what that has meant for their community, so there's a lot of talk, nothing where we can say this is a definite deal, but it's exciting to be considered."

Lamson makes it clear though that they like their setup at the fairground and doesn't plan any big changes in the short term. "Rather than any broad sweeping things, it's more of a tweaking just to keep up with the trends."

Lamson says one goal is to continue to build a relationship with and market to Tulsa's growing Hispanic community.