All clear in Tacoma?

This story was on the website of the Tacoma News-Tribune.

Tucson’s likely departure solidifies Tacoma’s future

It seems apparent that the 40th year of professional baseball in Tucson, Ariz., might be a sad one, or even the last one.

Earlier in the week, Jay Zucker, president and CEO for Tucson Baseball, LLC., announced that the group had reached an agreement to transfer ownership of the Tucson Sidewinders to Manhattan Capital Sports, LLC and SK Baseball – a partnership of Stuart and Jerry Katzoff and Indiana Pacers co-owner Herb Simon.

While ownership changes are frequent for minor league baseball franchises, this particular shift has brought a fair amount of deserved anxiety to the baseball fans in Tucson. Why? Because just a few months ago, Washoe County, Nevada, sent a letter of intent to the Pacific Coast League saying it wanted to purchase a Triple-A franchise.

Shortly thereafter SK Baseball worked out a predevelopment and finance deal with Washoe County Commission to build a 6,500- to 10,000-seat stadium in Reno that would be ready for the 2009 season.

After 39 years of professional baseball in Tucson, it appears that next year will be the last. Or not?
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While Tucson fans lament the possibility of no more baseball in the future, their loss pretty much cements the Rainiers’ future in Tacoma.

When Reno first sent the letter of intent for a franchise to the PCL, some local fans were worried that the Rainiers, who are under new ownership, could be that team, particularly with the franchise’s lease with the city up for renewal in 2008.

However, Mike McCall, president of Schlegel Sports Group, the owners of the Rainiers, dismissed those thoughts a few weeks back.

“When we bought the Rainiers, the idea all along was to keep them here in Tacoma,” he said. “And that’s what we intend to do.”

Just something to keep an eye on.