Thursday marked a milestone in Amarillo, as officials celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for a new downtown ballpark for the relocating San Antonio Missions (Class AA; Texas League).
Elmore Sports Group is planning a series of franchise shifts that will take effect in 2019, including the move of the Class AA Missions to Amarillo. When the club arrives in Amarillo, it will play its games at the new $45.5-million venue that is slated to be built in the city’s downtown.
The goal is to complete construction on the facility by April 2019, and a step toward that target was taken with Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony. During the proceedings, officials took the opportunity to provide their vision for how the ballpark will affect downtown Amarillo once the construction is complete. More from The Amarillo Globe-News:
“About 12 months from now, this is really going to be taking shape and getting ready to open next April,” said Elmore Sports Group Chairman D.G. Elmore Jr. “One thing I like to think about is the type of major decisions cities make to form a city. You see the parking garage and the retail that’s going to be there, and we like to believe this ballpark is going to be a key part of all the things that will be happening in downtown Amarillo.
“There’s three generations of us (Dave Elmore, D.G. Elmore and Doug Elmore) that have been involved in baseball, and we’re committed to making this the greatest Double-A ballpark in the country. We’re delighted to be a part of this.”
In another significant development, details have been released on the name the team contest that will take place for the Amarillo franchise. The Amarillo Globe-News provides more details in a separate story, but the plan is to begin the name the team contest in April.
As noted, the new Amarillo ballpark will host the Class AA Missions, who are relocating as part of a series of Elmore Sports Group-owned franchise shifts. The Missions will be replaced in San Antonio by the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), while the Helena Brewers (Rookie; Pioneer League) will relocate to Colorado Springs.
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