The summer collegiate Prospect League could field a team in Clarksville, TN, with the club’s home being a new ballpark in a larger sports complex.
Clarksville officials are discussing a proposed sports complex that would be constructed near Interstate 24 exit 8. A ballpark is one of the main features that is being considered for the development, and it could end up becoming the home of a Prospect League team.
According to its proposal, National Sports Services has entered into an agreement to purchase a Prospect League franchise and relocate it to Clarksville should the plans move forward. The relocation could take effect as early as 2019, with the Clarksville team playing that season at Austin Peay University’s Raymond C. Hand Park. In addition to the Prospect League team, National Sports Services is expressing interesting in owning a development level soccer club that would play at the facility.
That would fit into the concept officials are touting for the ballpark, which is for it to serve as a multipurpose venue. Additional information about the potential for a Prospect League team at the complex is expected to surface on Thursday afternoon, when it is discussed by the Clarksville City Council. More from The Leaf-Chronicle:
At Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. City Council special called session, council members are expected to consider information about a request for proposal for Clarksville to have its own Prospect League summer collegiate baseball team….
The partnership between the city and National Sports Services is seen by Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan’s administration as another potential anchoring component of the Exit 8 sports complex.
“Here, once again, we have an opportunity to have a team — Clarksville’s own team, where colleges and universities around the state send players here in a summer league program where Major League scouts can observe them.
“This is a league that likes to partner with municipalities. We would build the stadium, which would be perhaps a $10 million stadium, or a little less, and would serve as a multipurpose stadium facility,” McMillan said.
Along with the ballpark, the sports complex could include 16 soccer fields.
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