Investors pitch baseball idea for The Ranch

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Larimer County and minor league baseball are scouting each other with an eye toward locating a new independent franchise at The Ranch, the county's fairgrounds and events complex in Loveland.

The county has what a new team needs--land.

It can also deliver fans, if the Colorado Eagles hockey franchise is any indication. When the 4-year-old Eagles won a second President's Cup Championship on May 23, the team played in front of the 154th consecutive sellout crowd in the Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch.

On May 15, county commissioners signed a memorandum of understanding with National Sports Services, a sports consulting firm with offices in Colorado, Kansas and Tennessee. NSS is working for interested investors who want to own one or two franchises in Colorado. Its CEO, Matt Perry, said the group is also exploring options with Commerce City.

The person who intends to be a substantial owner in both franchises, Donald "Deke" Karras of Denver, said he would like to have the teams playing for the 2009 season. Karras played college baseball and now plays with Colorado Over 50 Baseball. He retired last year as a vice president with Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., a leading gold producer in the world.

"Minor league ownership is something I've always wanted to do," Karras said.

In addition to his own financial commitment to the teams, he said he hopes to attract numerous local investors.

The public relations director for Commerce City, Heather Grady, said in a telephone interview that the city and NSS are trying to locate a stadium site as part of their memorandum of understanding. A site could be publicly or privately owned, she said.

In Larimer County, with a potential site already named, NSS and the county are ready to delve into the variety of ways they could work together.

"We don't come to this with any preconceived expectations," Perry told the county commissioners. "The goal is to come up with something that works for all parties."

Larimer County wants a multi-purpose outdoor facility that could also host rodeos, concerts and other economic boosters. Such a facility has been part of the fairgrounds master plan for years, but the county has not had funds to build it.

NSS and the investors see The Ranch as a location with developed access and parking, along with an existing support staff of county employees and a growing reputation for regional sports.

"We feel it's a good home for minor league baseball," Perry said.

A baseball team, with a season from mid-May to September, would complement the Eagles' schedule, he said. The baseball team would play 48 homes games and 48 on the road. It could schedule away games during the Larimer County Fair and Rodeo.

The memo does not bind either party to any specific agreements. It will expire in eight months, at which time the county and NSS decide whether to part ways or delve deeper into a potential partnership. If the partnership gels, Public Works Director Marc Engemoen said the county would ultimately own the new facility.

Architect Andy Barnard, whose Denver firm has designed several sports facilities, said a baseball stadium would need 3,500 to 5,000 seats and about eight acres, excluding parking. The county has 240 acres at The Ranch.

Construction would require a minimum of $8 million, Perry said, but building costs to accommodate rodeo events are difficult to forecast. "We want to build something first class," he said.

The NSS contingent said it would take an investment of $1 million to $2 million to get a franchise going, in addition to facility costs.

The Colorado franchises would likely be part of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, whose teams are not affiliated with the major leagues.

The association, which formed in late 2005, has member teams in Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana and Florida. It is ready to expand to Colorado, Perry said.

Larimer County is also home to the Fort Collins Foxes, which plays in the Mountain Collegiate Baseball League, a wooden bat summer collegiate league with teams in Colorado and Wyoming. The Foxes play home games at Colorado State University's Ram Baseball Field. The season runs from May 31 to July 31.