Ballpark Would Not Pay Its Own Way, Expert Says

Politicians from Oxnard, Ventura and Camarillo expressed support for a proposed minor league ballpark Wednesday, despite an experienced consultant’s admission that the $15-million stadium would never pay for itself.

In a smooth presentation that included a speech by former major league pitcher and Santa Paula native Jim Colborn, consultants pitched the merits of the 5,500-seat ballpark to a roomful of council members and city officials in Camarillo.

The Ventura County stadium would be as successful as heralded minor league ballparks in Rancho Cucamonga and Lake Elsinore, attracting about 340,000 fans a year--a near sellout every game, said Dan Young, president of the Spectrum Group, an Irvine-based sports consultant.

But when asked if the stadium would ever pay for itself, Young said the ballpark’s revenues would only cover operating expenses.

“I think he gave an honest answer,” said Ventura Mayor Tom Buford. “The answer is no, and that is something we have to look at.”

A committee of city leaders is recommending that the three cities form a joint powers authority to pay for the stadium, which could be ready by the 1996 baseball season.

Under such a plan, the cities would guarantee bonds for the construction and would ultimately be responsible for paying off the debt on those bonds.

Joe Gagliardi, president of the California League, promised in the spring to deliver a Class A team to the county if someone built a stadium. The three cities formed a committee in March and have spent $85,000 to study the idea.

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The three councils will decide whether to proceed with the plan next month.

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez, who did not attend the presentation, said the city has more important things to spend taxpayers’ money on than baseball.

“I would personally find it very difficult to commit city funds to build a stadium, or any part of it,” Lopez said. “I think there are more important priorities. We have streets that need to be repaired.”

But most council members at the meeting said they backed the plan to bring a Class A team to western Ventura County, citing the lack of family entertainment in the region.

“I think it’s obvious that it’s not going to pay for itself,” said Oxnard Councilman Andres Herrera. “We need to look at this as a public venue that is going to provide entertainment to the community.”

Ventura County’s last Class A team, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate called the Ventura Gulls, played one season in 1986 and left for San Bernardino after failing to attract enough fans.

“We played at (Ventura College), all day games, with no beer,” said Colborn, who co-owned the club. “We promoted it poorly.”

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If the three city councils agree to form it, the Tri-Cities Sports Authority, as the joint project would be named, would own and operate the ballpark and share all costs and profits.

“This is really the way to go,” said Young. “It’s intelligent financial planning.”

If approved, the cities expect to start negotiating with Class A teams next month.

A stadium site is expected to be chosen from four locations in the three cities on Oct. 27. Haggling is expected between landowners and city officials over land donations and the tax breaks or development concessions the cities would grant in return.

Last month the committee ranked a site near the Ventura Auto Center as the best location, but a last-minute offer of free land by a Camarillo owner--deemed too good to ignore--threw a curve into the selection process.

The owners of the new site, located near the Camarillo Airport, have offered to donate about 25 of the 35 acres needed for a ballpark, said Camarillo Mayor Ken Gose. But in exchange for their land, they are seeking to develop about 140 adjacent acres, he said.

“Not many people offer you millions of dollars out of the goodness of their heart,” said Camarillo Mayor Ken Gose. “They want something in return.”

Ventura council member Rosa Lee Measures said private funds for the stadium structure itself should not be overlooked.

Measures said she plans to contact five of the county’s wealthiest residents to see if they would fund the ballpark--in exchange for having it named after them.

NEXT STEP

A committee of city leaders from Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo is scheduled to make a final decision on a stadium site Oct. 27. The Oxnard, Ventura, and Camarillo city councils will vote on whether to proceed with the plan in Nov. 1.