The anticipated sale and relocation of the Columbus Catfish to Bowling Green, Ky., in time for the 2009 South Atlantic League baseball season can't be accomplished simply with the stroke of a pen and the arrival of a moving van.
Selling a team and relocating it are treated as two entirely separate transactions, both of which are subject to the approval of the South Atlantic League and Minor League Baseball.
South Atlantic League president Eric Krupa said Monday that he has not yet received sale or relocation paperwork from the Catfish.
"Officially, the league has no comment until I receive an application," Krupa said Monday. "I'm sitting and waiting. The process starts when one lands on your desk."
At the very least, officials in Bowling Green are convinced the Catfish will be playing in a yet-to-be-built 4,000-seat ballpark planned to open downtown in time for the 2009 South Atlantic League season.
Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker told the Bowling Green Daily News in a story published Sunday that "(Columbus) was the team we heard is coming." The newspaper also cited an unidentified South Atlantic League source as having confirmed the deal.
Whither Columbus?
If the Catfish relocate, it would likely leave Columbus without a South Atlantic League team in 2009, if not beyond. If Columbus soon finds itself without a minor league baseball team, Krupa said it would be difficult to ensure continued South Atlantic League membership unless another owner emerged and lured another city's SAL franchise to town.
"The minor leagues won't expand until the major leagues expand again," he said.
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