Published: September 10, 2007 10:18 pm      

New Barons owners desire family-friendly atmosphere

BLUEFIELD — Sean Harris played football at Concord at age 31.

The Bluefield Barons could offer him a chance to play again. He’ll pass. He’d rather own the team.

That desire became reality on Monday when Harris and co-owner Scott Curry finalized a deal to purchase the third-year franchise from Bill Dudley.

“Basically, we’re looking at it from a business perspective,” said Harris, the majority owner and a Mount View graduate, who now resides in Princeton. “We bought the team, name, equipment, logo, all of it.”

The Barons have been anything but boring since Dudley started the franchise in 2005. They’ve had plenty of success, winning a pair of conference titles, and even a share of a national championship last season.

The good, though, has often been overshadowed by the bad, from misconduct among some of its players to the difficulty of trying to secure the rights to play at newly-refurbished Mitchell Stadium this year.

Harris hopes to change the perception of the team. Part of that change will include paying ‘50 to 60 percent’ of the players. Dudley, who will remain as coach and general manager, will also be paid. Harris has also hired an equipment and personnel manager.

“They are professional athletes and they will be expected to act like professional athletes,” said Harris, who hopes to move the team to Princeton next year, while changing the name to something that will relate to all of Mercer County. “All the players, coaches and staff will have a suit and tie on. They will be held accountable for their actions.”

Harris said the goal is to bring back the family atmosphere to the team that was part of Dudley’s original plan.

“I want to emphasize to the community that this will be family-oriented, we want families to come out and not be concerned about some of the things in the past,” said Harris, who plans to keep the Barons busy volunteering in the community. “I know some people haven’t brought their families out because of cursing and some of the music at the stadium.

“That will cease. I want to assure families that they can come out and have a good time. It will be a family-friendly atmosphere.”

Even though the Barons are 1-3 on the campaign, Harris is confident they can turn around their season. Dudley said that once word leaked out that the new ownership would be paying players, his phone lit up.

At least six past starters have already agreed to come back, and Harris has heard from agents of clients from as far away as California. That includes former athletes at Virginia Tech and Marshall, and even players with experience in the NFL, CFL and Arena Football League.

Harris said the team would remain in the Central Carolina League this season, but become an independent with a more demanding schedule in the future. There’s even a December bowl game waiting for the Barons in Alabama.

“One of the benefits of paying the players is we will get a better quality of player,” said Harris, who added that the holdovers who helped build the team would get a fair opportunity to keep spots on the team. “We still have a lot of athletes from around here that went on to play in college.

“There are some great athletes on the team now, but you can always get better.”

Harris and Curry — who will have a minority interest in the team — will get their first chance to unveil the ‘new’ Barons on Saturday when the team hosts its first ‘real’ home game this season against the South Carolina Titans at Mitchell Stadium at 8 p.m.

The cost is $8 per person, $6 for persons 18-and-under or $20 for a family package. There will also be promotions, with games and prizes for kids and adults alike.

“Everything is mainly targeted to families,” said Harris, who said at least five home games remain, including three at Mitchell and one at Mount View. “We want the families to come out. This is such a small area and there’s not a lot to do on a Saturday night.

“We’re hoping to bring more entertainment to the area. What better way than a good football game.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com