Top Menu

NAL at 12 for 2011; league looking at Metrodome?

North American LeagueThe independent North American League has apparently settled at 12 teams for the 2011 season, with two divisions of six teams each; meanwhile, league officials have talked with Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission leaders about putting a team in the Metrodome. Really.

The league lineup: in the Eastern DivisionRockford RiverHawks, Lake County Fielders, Schaumburg Flyers, San Angelo Colts, Edinburg RoadRunners, Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings. In the Western DivisionChico Outlaws, Na Koa Ikaika Maui, Calgary Vipers, Edmonton Capitals, Tijuana Ambassadors, and Yuma Scorpions. We’re not entirely sure this is a final lineup — there’s talk of a contingency plan for an eight- or 10-team league should the new owners of the Schaumburg Flyers decide to bolt to another league — and one of these teams will be playing on a one-year deal in their own ballpark.

There had been talk of Palm Springs, Omaha and Las Vegas teams in the league, but those plans apparently fell through for 2011.

As did a plan to place a team in Minneapolis’s Metrodome, apparently. In this article, MSFC head Bill Lester confirmed talk of placing an independent-league team in the Dome. We’d heard scuttlebutt of such discussions, but to be blunt we were pretty incredulous someone would invest money in a franchise playing at the Dome, even temporarily. It was barely tolerable as a venue for the Minnesota Twins and is borderline for the Minnesota Golden Gophers; we can’t imagine anyone summoning enthusiasm on a beautiful June night to see a North American League team hosting the Yuma Scorpions.

RELATED STORIES: NAL at 12 teams, tentatively; no schedule yet; Metrodome roof won’t be fixed until March; Dome roof could be repaired for Gophers season; Will Metrodome be ready for baseball season?; Metrodome roof collapses in dramatic fashion; Pohlads pledge $2 million toward new U of Minnesota ballpark; U of Minnesota announces ballpark plan — kinda; It’s official: North American League unveiledJoliet city officials to lobby at Frontier League meetings; Joliet throws monkey wrench in league mergers; New for 2011: North American League; Three indy leagues joining forces for 2011?; Seals: Canaries in the coal mine?

Share your news with the baseball community. Send it to us at editors@augustpublications.com.

Subscribers to the weekly Ballpark Digest newsletter see features before they’re posted to the site. You can sign up for a free subscription at the Newsletter Signup Page.

Join Ballpark Digest on Facebook and on Twitter!

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,