The quest continues: Wenatchee AppleSox owner/general manager Jim Corcoran is once again seeking an improved home for his summer-collegiate West Coast League team.
The AppleSox currently play out of Paul Thomas Sr. Baseball Stadium on the Wenatchee Valley College campus, a limited facility: 520 fixed seats and 680 bleacher seats, only one source of running water, and no group facilities. Alas, it’s the best facility in town: Recreation Park, the former home to pro baseball in town dating back to 1937, is in terrible condition.
Still, Corcoran sees one of these two facilities expanded or renovated to host the AppleSox; in either case, the price for upgrades would be between $6 million and $8 million. You don’t see many new summer-collegiate facilities built at that price, and with tax dollars unavailable for most of that cost, Corcoran is seeking community contributions to get things going. From Wenatchee World:
“In today’s environment, it’s tough to find funding for a baseball facility,” Corcoran said. “Nor would I be interested in getting funds in tax-based places that some have done before. Particularly so here in Wenatchee, where we just got done with an uncomfortable process with the (Town Toyota Center) arena. Last thing I want to do is create a similar situation for this community. This community has been too good to us, I don’t want to hand it a mess in return.”
So Corcoran says he has to be “creative and find funding through a non-traditional channel.”
The owner is currently in talks with a few local businesses and a couple families about potential donations that could help the project, but he still needs help from others, he said.
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