With so much uncertainty surrounding a proposed new ballpark in Escondido and concern about wear and tear at The Diamond, the home of the Lake Elsinore Storm (High Class A; California League), the decision apparently has been made to relocate the Portland Beavers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) temporarily to Tucson Electric Park for the 2011 season.
The news doesn’t come from the Bevos — a franchise that barely exists now after many employees shifted to work full-time for the MLS’s Portland Timbers — but from a Tucson councilman. It supports what Tucson baseball folks like Jay Zucker have said for weeks: that Tucson was the ultimate destination for the team.
Here’s what’s going down. First, despite uncertainty with the Escondido new-ballpark situation, San Diego Padres owner Jeff Moorad will go ahead with his plan to buy the Beavers from Merritt Paulson. Though Moorad had pushed a plan for the Beavers to play in Lake Elsinore, that plan faced some serious issues. So the decision has apparently been made to play in Tucson, though there’s been no official announcement.
That’s because some moving parts need to be nailed down. First, as we’ve noted, there’s pretty much nothing to the Beavers now except the name and the franchise agreement. Former Tucson Sidewinders (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) owner Jay Zucker is negotiating to run the Beavers on behalf of Moorad, and the likely destination for the team is Tucson Electric Park, the former home of the Sidewinders and the former spring home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox. Zucker would place his other team, the Tucson Toros (independent; Golden Baseball League) on hiatus — a pretty serious blow for that circuit. The Toros paced the league in attendance, and there are some issues coming up with at least one more GBL team in coming weeks.
The folks in Tucson are pretty happy: they supported the Toros pretty well, and they’ll have the chance to cheer on affiliated ball again. And who knows? If the Escondido ballpark proposal falls through, they may have the chance to cheer on the relocated Beavers for more than just a season.
RELATED STORIES: Escondido ballpark vote delayed after pollution found at site; Fate of Bevos in the air until November, maybe December; Padres pitch one-sided lease to Escondido; Escondido: Show us some money, Padres; Escondido in, San Marcos out of Bevos ballpark mix; Portland Beavers to…Lake Elsinore?; Could bidding war erupt for Bevos?; Portland Bevos update: Tucson-bound?; Come 2011, where will Beavers play?; Paulson finalizes deal for PGE Park soccer conversion; whither the Bevos?; Paulson withdraws bid for Bevos ballpark in Beaverton; Decision on Bevos ballpark could go to Beaverton voters; Beaverton, Bevos reach agreement on new ballpark sans site; Land woes could kill Bevos ballpark in Beaverton; Picketers greet pro-Beavers rally in Beaverton; Landowners not thrilled with Beaverton Bevos ballpark plan; Bevos eye Beaverton for new ballpark site; Paulson withdraws request for Bevos ballpark in Lents; Portland to move ahead with soccer renovation, put off plans for Bevos ballpark; Thursday vote could determine Bevos ballpark fate; New Beavers ballpark lacks support on City Council; Bevos, city close to final funding proposal for new ballpark; Rose Quarter location officially off the table for new Bevos ballpark; Bevos ballpark plans back up in the air — and maybe doomed; Portland ballpark vote delayed as mayor adjusts site, financial plans; New Beavers ballpark wouldn’t happen until 2012 — at the earliest; Cost of Portland redevelopment mushrooms to almost $300 million; Crunching the numbers on a new Bevos ballpark; Portland proposes tearing down Memorial Coliseum for new Bevos ballpark; Portland City Council votes to move ahead with new Bevos ballpark — but takes $15 million from the equation; Paulson agrees to Portland’s financial demands; still may not be enough; Bevos ballpark plan runs into serious financial obstacles; Portland task force gives preliminary approval to new Bevos ballpark — with plenty of conditions; Portland ballpark discussion shifts to Rose Quarter; Decision on new Bevos ballpark location delayed; Will new ballpark fly in Lents?
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!