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MountainStar Sports Group extends Kino Stadium lease

New El Paso ballpark

Calling it insurance if a new El Paso ballpark is not completed in 2014, MountainStar Sports Group has extended the lease for Kino Stadium with Tucson for next season.

MountainStar Sports Group purchased the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) and plans to move the team to El Paso next season. Now, no one expects the Tucson Padres to reappear next season; with ballpark construction well underway, we’re looking at a situation where an unexpected problem could delay the opening of the ballpark past the scheduled April 11 date. With the Kino Stadium lease at $70,000, MountainStar Sports Group decided to take out an insurance policy and enter into a 2014 lease. From the Arizona Daily Star:

Alan Ledford, the president of the MountainStar Sports Group, said the decision to renew the contract is more of a backup plan for the team, an insurance policy in case the downtown El Paso stadium isn’t finished by April.

He wouldn’t rule out the possibility the team could play in Tucson next year, at least for a few games, but said such a decision is several months away.

In the the context of a multi-million-dollar deal, consider this cheap insurance.

Rendering courtesy Populous.

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