The CBS affiliate in Roanoke has this story:
Pulaski to get professional baseball team
Baseball may be coming back to Pulaski. It looks like the Seattle Mariners will put a farm team at Calfee Park in the town.
The stadium has been empty since last fall when the Toronto Blue Jays pulled the plug on its minor league team.
The formal announcement and signing is expected on Friday at 10:30 in the morning. Town officials say they are excited to have a professional team back in town.
Interesting.
What makes it even more interesting is this story from BaseballAmerica.com back in November. The main point in here is the last part of the second paragraph.
It’s been a long, frustrating process for league president Lee Landers and team officials. Landers put a lot of energy into trying to get a team there for 2007 and he twice felt like he was on the verge of having deals completed for next year only to have both teams back out. Landers confirmed that he and team president Tom Compton have been talking with three teams about playing in Pulaski next season, with Seattle the furthest along in negotiations. According to Landers, Mariners officials have had meetings with Pulaski representatives and have done studies on the feasibility of such a move. Seattle currently has six affiliates, including one in the Rookie-level Arizona League, and would easily be the Appalachian League’s most western club. The Mariners could conceivably pull out of the AZL before next season since teams do not sign player development contracts to participate. Conceivable? Yes. Likely? I don't think so. Would Seattle really pull out of the Arizona League? Think about it. They already have the set up there. Stadium, staff, facilities, et cetera, et cetera , et cetera. If they go into Pulaski, it would probably be as another affiliate. I guess it will all be known on Friday.
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