Pro baseball team coming to League City By Sara McDonald The Daily News Published February 25, 2007 LEAGUE CITY — Baseball fans in the Bay Area have something to cheer about. Representatives from the Continental Baseball League, a Dallas-based independent professional league about to begin its inaugural season, confirmed that one team’s home plate will be in League City. League President Ron Baron and League City Mayor Jerry Shults will reveal the team’s name at a press conference on Tuesday. The League City team will be one of four teams in the minor league. The others — the Lewisville Lizards, Tarrant County Blue Thunder and the Texas Heat, based in Dallas — have been announced. The league considered more than 40 cities across the country as potential sites. Baron said other teams would be added after the first season. Try-outs for the team are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 30 and 31 at The MAC, 200 Continental Drive in Lewisville. Registration is $25 per player. Game schedules are due for release after the rosters are set. The league plans a 60-game season for the League City franchise. The home games will be at the Clear Creek High School baseball fields. Most games will be played Thursday through Sunday to give families better opportunities to attend. Original plans had the league playing an 80-game season that would span 13 weeks, but Baron cut the schedule to 60 games in 12 weeks to make the teams more affordable for investors. The teams have a salary cap of $25,000 a year per team, or about $1,000 per player. Baron said ticket prices would range from $5 to $12. The season begins May 25. This is big news to us here in League City. However, I'm not a big fan of the games being at Creek High School. My son is on the sophomore team there, and I've been to the field a few times this season. The grass has already taken a beating. I can't imagine how bad its gonna look after a whole summer of minor league play. EDIT: The team is gonna be called the Bay Area Toros
Surely he isn't saying that people in League City have no access to baseball games, is he? Last time I checked, it was only a 25-30 min drive to Minute Maid Park.
Not to mention, League City has been a hotbed for baseball for 30 years. There's a reason they built "Big League Dreams" in League City.
Well I umpire games in the area, Connie Mack, Mickey Mantle....and the fields are being used a few times a week anyways during the summer, not to mention they're practiced on by the summer teams a lot.
My hometown (Jonesboro, AR) was in contention for a team. When they were looking they said that they wanted cities that were at least 1 hour or 60 miles from another professional team. Maybe we'll get one after the first season.
It is going to be difficult for Independent Baseball to survive in League City playing in a high school park. Professional Baseball thrives on sponsorship dollars, and attendance. However a neccesity is the ability to sell beer. It will not be possible for this team to sell beer because of where the games will be. I think the Houston area is a great spot for indy baseball in the near future.. But it takes a minor league baseball stadium either built by a city or by private investors.. The CBL is already a laughing stock around indy baseball right now..This league will not last... who knows if it will even start.
It's true that they should probably be selling beer to increase revenue, but based on this article, the league seems like they're trying to bring a family atmosphere to this league.
