With discussions of relocating the club to Madison, AL continuing, the new ownership group of the Mobile BayBears (Class AA; Southern League) is touting the market’s strengths.
Earlier this month, BallCorps, LLC finalized its purchase of the BayBears. It has been reported that the group could seek to move the BayBears, with Madison widely mentioned as a potential landing spot. A ballpark there could be constructed at Town Madison, a 500-acre development located about 10 miles from downtown Huntsville on I-565.
Madison is a part of the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, which has not had professional baseball since the Huntsville Stars (Class AA; Southern League) played their final full season at Joe W. Davis Stadium in 2014. The Stars relocated to Biloxi, MS after efforts to secure a new ballpark came up short, but a potential arrival of the BayBears could bring baseball back to an area that has been viewed as a good market.
BallCorps managing partner and CEO Ralph Nelson has discussed the group’s interest in the region, noting the strengths that the market has to offer. More from WAAYTV.com:
“I think this is probably the best minor-league baseball market in the United States that does not currently have a team,” Nelson said.
The fact that Huntsville just recently lost a team 3 years ago, because after failing to get a new ballpark built, hasn’t deterred him from considering North Alabama after heavily vetting the market.
“We love the demographics here. We love the economy here. We love the enthusiasm of the folks we have met with here. There’s a very attractive site in Madison that we like quite a bit,” Nelson said.
To this point, the club has received permission to explore the market, but permission to relocate has not been granted and would have to come as part of a later process. The BayBears are slated to spend the 2018 season at Hank Aaron Stadium, and Mobile officials have previously indicated that they are not ready to give up on the team.
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