Pimps Sold, Pipers Move In
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November 16th, 2001 - PIPERS Press Release:
Pimps Sold; Pipers Move In
(BBC, Heathrow Airport) - The Bristol Academicals came into the league during the 2000 season, but had the misfortune of having their nearest rival thousands of miles away.
This will change.
Commissioner Joe Chapman officially announced the sale of the Evansville Pimps to an ownership group, spearheaded by [[James Reisdorf]], and also including British pop star Billie Piper and her husband, ex-TV personality Chris Evans. The group will officially move the team to Swindon in the United Kingdom, Billie's hometown, and GM/owner Reisdorf announced the team would be named the Pipers in her honour.
Swindon had been in talks with the Pimps since the later half of the 2000 "B" season, and was also in talks for an expansion team, which became the Wu-Tang Venoms. Today's move makes he rumours true. "The residents seemed very open to a baseball club there." said Reisdorf at a press conference near Heathrow Airport in London. "We know of their football club there, but we figured that we could give the city some more notice because I'm perhaps the only person familiar with the club." Piper, who has 3 #1 hits and 6 top 5 singles in the UK, helped make the move official, with Evans' help, during the all-star break, when they helped fund a renovation to County Ground. The facility, which is home to football's Swindon Robins, was fitted with 40,000 seats to make it baseball oriented. The renovation to newly renamed Piper Field at County Ground is expected to be 100% in a couple of weeks, with some cosmetic adjustments to the middle-aged facility still being done, most of them pertaining to the new football setup. "I'm very excited to be a part of something like this." said Billie, donning a Robins cap. "It's been a difficult time for some of us lately, but this can be considered a celebration for us. It's great, isn't it?"
The Swindon Pipers will announce future developments later in the week, when their team office's renovation is finished. Reisdorf is currently working out deals for an on-field coaching staff, and is still looking for a manager. The team logo and uniforms will be introduced during this time as well, which are being developed under Evans' supervision.
The Pipers acquire a club with several talented players, including hall of famers Ty Cobb, Harmon Killebrew, and Lefty Grove, future hall of famer Ken Griffey Jr., and stars Gary Sheffield and [[Mike Sweeney]]. Their previous incarnation finished 86-76, and lost a one- game playoff to the South Side Soldiers.
