CBL in 2011

[LandRoverUT60]

I'm not too familiar with the CBL, and I'm aware that its membership is down to 4 teams, but are there talks of expansion for 2011?

As for Desert Valley, it seems like St. George could be their new home, according to Wikipedia. Here are some thoughts as to why this might be:

--At least according to the Wikipedia article, out of Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, Colorado, and Utah, Utah seems to be the settled home for Desert Valley.

--Existing CBL teams with an actual home field have field capacities of around 1500. Bruce Hurst Field has 2500 capacity, making it the one of the largest fields in the CBL.

--The CBL has become more of a West Texas/New Mexico league in the Southwest region of the US; the only Utah location that's (roughly) in that region is St. George.

--The current cities of the CBL seem to hang around 100,000 people, with potential cities (again, on Wikipedia) Roswell (NM), Pueblo (CO), roughly in that same 100-200k range.

--While the Utah location remains "undecided" on the Wikipedia page, I don't see the CBL trying to take on the Ogden Raptors, Orem Owlz, or Salt Lake Bees along the Wasatch Front, nor do I expect them to send the Mountain Lions to, say, Price.

Thoughts?

[wellington]

The CBL is gone... the remaining teams led by the Las Cruces owner, Andrew Dunn, formed the Pecos League:

http://www.pecosleague.com/



It looks like they are focusing on southern NM and west Texas for 2011. Over time, I think southern UT could be feasible. St. George may be more suited for a Pecos-type league.

[LandRoverUT60]

[quote=""wellington""]The CBL is gone... the remaining teams led by the Las Cruces owner, Andrew Dunn, formed the Pecos League:

http://www.pecosleague.com/



It looks like they are focusing on southern NM and west Texas for 2011. Over time, I think southern UT could be feasible. St. George may be more suited for a Pecos-type league.[/quote]

Just found that bit out, but thanks anyways. However, it seems as though Desert Valley is still on (or at least proposed) for 2011. Of course, you have the "road team" issue; I wonder if they'll just go with that.

I'm beginning to think that the GBL will go under in the next couple of years (with some of the stuff mentioned over at the GBL forum), and that many former GBL (and WBL) cities could jump on board with the Pecos when that happens. That could be the solution to the Indy leagues in the West problem, as well.

St. George and other similar cities could certainly be a good fit for the Pecos League.

[wellington]

I think you are right about the GBL. Time is running out. We have seen the writing on the wall for a number of years now. It isn't too surprising that Edmonton has been looking at buying a AAA team/franchise. Hopefully the Canadian teams land on their feet and find greener pastures.

If St. George can have a solid 500-1000 per game they could be a flagship franchise in the Pecos League. The key is having a cluster of teams in northern AZ, western CO, and Utah (i.e. Price). They could probably have an eastern division (Las Cruces, Alpine, Roswell, etc.) and western division (St. George, Price, etc.).

Not too sure what is going to happen to Desert Valley. As of right now, White Sands Pupfish (formerly Coastal Kingfish) will be one of the travel teams along with El Paso (Orlando Dragons). Should be interesting to see what happens...

[LandRoverUT60]

[quote=""wellington""]
If St. George can have a solid 500-1000 per game they could be a flagship franchise in the Pecos League. The key is having a cluster of teams in northern AZ, western CO, and Utah (i.e. Price). They could probably have an eastern division (Las Cruces, Alpine, Roswell, etc.) and western division (St. George, Price, etc.).
[/quote]

Here's another thought...what about Page, AZ, Farmington, NM, or Cortez/Durango, CO? Roughly the same size of Price and would really help tie St. George in.

I would put Grand Junction, but they could be landing the Casper Ghosts; at least that's what I read somewhere on these forums.

[wellington]

[quote=""LandRoverUT60""]Here's another thought...what about Page, AZ, Farmington, NM, or Cortez/Durango, CO? Roughly the same size of Price and would really help tie St. George in.

I would put Grand Junction, but they could be landing the Casper Ghosts; at least that's what I read somewhere on these forums.[/quote]

Durango is a great little town (pop. 14,000). If I was a young minor league player, I would be very happy spending a summer in Durango (fly fishing, outdoor sports). Even though the year-round population is relatively small, tourism is a big part of the local economy: Durango & Silverton Railway and Mesa Verde. There is a steady stream of people visiting throughout the summer months. If a team could take advantage of this and get some of the tourists to catch a game while in town that could bring in additional income. However, there would likely have to be some appeal beyond the baseball itself -- a good venue, cheap beer, etc.... DURANGO DYNAMITE

I think those other cities could be viable options. However, most of these communities like Durango are relatively small places, so I am not sure if there is enough population to support a team long-term especially in places like Page and Price. However, if teams can average a solid 300 fans per game and with reasonable travel costs and some sponsor support they could be viable markets.