Another ballpark abandoned by Minor League Baseball will be revived in 2026, as the summer-collegiate Futures League will set up shop at LeLacheur Park, the former home of the Lowell Spinners (Short Season A; NY-Penn League).
When MiLB contracted in 2020, the Spinners were a casualty despite lobbying by Massachusetts representatives. And while the Boston Red Sox expressed interest in placing a team at LeLacheur Park, public subsidies for ballpark upgrades never materialized. There were plenty of rumors that landlord UMass Lowell was looking at tearing down the ballpark, but in the end the school decided to respond to overtures from the Future League, where former Spinners owner Drew Weber expressed interest in bringing summer-collegiate ball to the mix.
Celebrating its 15th season in 2025, the Futures League has welcomed more than 3 million fans since its inception in 2011. Other former MiLB teams in the circuit are the Vermont Lake Monsters and the Norwich Sea Unicorns. Though the league has committed to LeLacheur Park, new owners will be needed to launch the team.
Opened by the city in 1998, LeLacheur Park opened in 1998 as a short-season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox before the 2020 season and enjoyed success under original owner Drew Weber and subsequent owner Dave Heller. UMass Lowell then purchased the park located on its East Campus.
“We are thrilled to welcome a Futures League team to Lowell that supports the dreams of aspiring professional athletes, provides great baseball for fans to watch and enriches life in Lowell and the Merrimack Valley,” said UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen in a press statement. “We’re eager to work with an ownership group that sees its future backing a team in the Mill City, which will also be an important entertainment addition to the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC).”
According to a UMass Lowell press release, the new team will contribute to the activity of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC), which is being created through a public-private partnership driven by UMass Lowell and the city. The initiative envisions a 1.2-million square-foot mixed-use development that includes companies co-located on campus, along with housing, retail businesses and entertainment destinations. Other sports teams in LINC, in addition to the university’s teams, include the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women’s Hockey League and the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League. Both play at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.
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