MountainStar Sports Group, which has a deal to bring affiliated baseball to a new downtown El Paso ballpark, says it has signed a Franchise Purchase Agreement for the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League).
It’s been a hectic few weeks for the four investors comprising MountainStar: the El Paso City Council narrowly passed a downtown-ballpark lease and Mayor John Cook passed on a veto, enabling the ballpark process. The plan is to tear down City Hall and build a new ballpark for the 2014 season. El Paso voters will be asked to approve a 2 percentage-point hike in the city hotel/motel tax to help pay for the ballpark.
Under MountainStar ownership, the Tucson Padres will play the 2013 season at Kino Stadium.
This doesn’t mean everything is final, but it does commit MountainStar to a purchase of the franchise.
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