(New Buffalo, MI) - Lights are now up at a baseball field where high-ranking college players hoping to make the major leagues will play in New Buffalo beginning next summer.

 

There are still a lot of things to do before the first pitch such as choosing the nickname of the team, which hasn’t been easy to avoid potential federal copyright infringements, said Brian Williams, a primary owner of the team and scout for the Texas Rangers.

 

Many people locally want the nickname to be Bison.

 

Bison was the beloved nickname of the middle school and high school athletic teams until the New Buffalo and River Valley school districts merged their sports programs in recent years and chose Red Arrow Raiders as the full name of their squads.

 

The first name of the college summer league team with nearly 40 home games planned from late May to mid-August is Dune Coast.

 

The nickname is down to four finalists, not including Bison, though.

 

Williams said there could be a potential copyright violation if the nickname was the same as other sports teams like the AAA minor league baseball team, Buffalo Bison.

 

In addition, Williams said the goal from the beginning has been to trademark the nickname and logo for using them exclusively on team jerseys and other merchandise planned to be offered commercially.

 

Another objective has been to have a nickname that reflects Lake Michigan and the surrounding area for marketing the team to a more regional audience in southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana since New Buffalo is close to the state line.

 

“We wanted something that depicted the beach and the recreation all of us enjoy but you also have to find something that’s not used currently,” he said.

 

He said more than 150 nicknames were suggested from La Porte to Valparaiso and St. Joseph during a recent online contest, but many of those were ruled out due to a concern about potential lawsuits.  

 

One of the nicknames still in the running is Breakers, featuring a character resembling a Bison on a surfboard.  Breakers are waves toppling over after reaching a certain height similar to whitecaps.  Whitecaps was ruled out since that is the nickname of a minor league baseball team in Grand Rapids and so was Waverunners, which is copyrighted by Yamaha for their personal watercrafts.

 

The remaining nicknames still under consideration are Lightning, Phantoms and Quillbacks.

 

Williams said Phantoms represents the shipwrecks on Lake Michigan, including one from the 1800’s near the Galien River.  Quillbacks are like porcupines Native Americans in the area once used for their pointed quills they placed in headdresses and other merchandise.

 

Williams said he hopes the nickname is chosen by no later than early August.

 

“We’re going to pick one we feel is best suited for going forward,” he said.

 

The games will be played at the new high school baseball park featuring the latest in artificial turf in the infield and the type of natural grass in the outfield used in several major league stadiums.

 

There’s also a built-in sprinkler system used every morning to provide water to the still young grass, which held up very well during the recent high school baseball season.

 

Electrical wiring must still be run to the lights put up in late June.  Once that is done,  Williams said the lighting will be top quality and stay on the field without drifting over to nearby residences.  He said extra money was spent on the lights “to make sure we’re being good neighbors to the people that live around there.”

 

One of the next steps likely in the fall will be constructing grandstand seating with fold-back chairs for 500 or more people with have stadium access to food and beverages, including alcohol, for those 21 and over.

 

Williams said fund raising is also occurring in hopes of obtaining a matching $75,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to help cover the costs of the seating.

 

The team will be in the Northwoods League, which has had over 400 players make it to the major leagues since established in the early 1990’s.  The league has teams from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and other states from as far away as North Dakota.

 

The lights and the golf course looking playing surface seem to have already provided a Field of Dreams look to what’s being converted into a small minor league stadium.

 

“It looks great.  We’re really excited about where it is,” Williams said.