Expedition League is on tap in Pierre, SD, where officials have moved forward with an agreement for a team to use Hyde Stadium.
Set to debut in 2018, the summer collegiate Expedition League is now set to include Pierre among its slate of markets. On Tuesday, the Pierre City Commission signed off on a five-year agreement for an Expedition League club to use Hyde Stadium, starting next summer.
The 5-0 vote by the commission effectively authorizes Pierre mayor Steve Harding to sign the agreement. The Expedition League is making plans to reveal more information about the Pierre franchise, with many of the details expected to be released in September. More from Capital Journal:
League president Steve Wagner told the Capital Journal after the vote that, by the end of September, the team would be named, colors would be selected, and a logo would be designed. Team merchandise also would start to go on sale.
The commission’s vote was less like an empty-bases home run than a solid base hit that drove in a runner standing at third. The runner already on base took the form of a memorandum-of- understanding between the city and Wagner, approved by the commission in early March this year, also on a 5-0 vote.
The memorandum allowed the Expedition League to begin wooing an owner for a team in Pierre. Wagner told the Capital Journal on Tuesday that an owner for Pierre’s team has now been lined up, and will be named at a noon press conference to be held on Friday, September. 8, at Hyde Stadium.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Pierre Parks and Recreation Director Tom Farnsworth gave commissioners an overview of the contractual terms of the lease. Protections for Pierre Post 8 Legion Baseball’s use of Hyde Stadium were highlighted in several of the lease terms. For example, scheduling of all non-profit baseball, including Legion play, will take priority over the for-profit Expedition League schedule. That includes scheduling of make-up games for rainouts.
Leading up to its launch, the Expedition League has been tied to several cities, including Brandon, Manitoba, along with United States markets such as Gering and Hastings Nebraska; Aberdeen, Rapid City, and Spearfish, South Dakota; Dickinson and Minot, North Dakota; and Casper, Wyoming. Capital Journal reports that lease agreements have been finalized in Brandon, Gering, Hastings, and Minot.
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