Investment Group May Buy Stockton Baseball Club

CAMARILLO —  The owner of a Stockton minor league baseball team said Wednesday that he is negotiating with a private investment firm called the Camarillo Sports Entertainment Group about purchasing the team.

But even if a deal is struck, exactly where the team would play remains a question. Camarillo has no baseball stadium, a league prerequisite to move the club.

“The plan is to move to Camarillo eventually, but this all requires [league] approval and no one will approve it unless the city has a ballpark,” said Dick Phelps, owner of the Stockton Ports, a Class A team affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers.

The president of the California League, which governs the 10-team league, said his office has not received an application to approve the sale and so any deal is far from complete.

“Nobody is going any place,” league President Joe Gagliardi said. “If people think the team is moving down there right away, it is just a lot of speculation.”

The owner of the Stockton Ports has tried selling the team two other times and both deals fell through, Gagliardi said.

“I am not going to get excited until I get an application,” he said. “I can assure everyone that the team will be playing in Stockton in 1998 and most likely in 1999.”

The private investment group must receive approval not only from the California League, but also from the National Assn. of Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball to purchase and move the team.

“They have to do an extensive background investigation of all the people involved in the purchase of the team to check out all of their financial and business dealings,” said Dan Chapman, general manager of the Stockton Ports.

This process could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, Chapman said.

“They are attempting to buy the ballclub prior to any confirmation of a stadium being built down there,” he said. “They’ll own and operate in Stockton and then if they are able to get a stadium built in another city, then they’d be able to move the team. But I’m not 100% certain that that’s their intention.”

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Indeed, the identity of the investors--who are from “all over Southern California”--and exactly what their intentions are remain largely a mystery.

“I can’t get into that,” Steve Loiselle, spokesman for the investment group, said when asked about its members and their plans. “I’ve got to say no comment.”

City Manager Bill Little said that if the group wants to move the team to Camarillo, it will have to come up with its own money to build a baseball stadium.

“If there is a reason to consider some advancing of city funds for infrastructure improvements, we would give it consideration,” he said. “It would have to paid back to the city with interest through a surcharge on tickets or parking and within a reasonable amount of time. But the city has never agreed to put any public money into a stadium at all.”

City planning officials said the investment firm has not filed any plans to build a stadium.

Meanwhile, plans to bring a minor league team to Oxnard are moving ahead.

Don DiCarlo, owner of the Pacific Suns, formerly the Palm Springs Suns, has opened an office in Oxnard’s Heritage Square and started an aggressive marketing campaign to promote the team throughout the county.

But several hurdles must be cleared before minor league baseball comes to the city.

The Suns, who announced their intention to play in Oxnard last year, didn’t play in this year’s Western League season.

Because the team attempted to relocate to Oxnard so late in 1996, league officials did not allow it to play this year. The team was to play at Oxnard College in 1997, but its agreement with the college has expired.

A deal for the 1998 season is expected to be presented to college trustees and City Council members in September, Oxnard City Atty. Gary Gillig said.

Under the agreement, he said, the college district would receive 5% of the team’s gross revenues. If the Suns are allowed to play in Oxnard next year, the team would first have to meet several requirements, he added.

These would include building a new parking lot at the college, adding bleachers and putting in fencing around the field.

“There’s a lot to be done,” Gillig said. “If they aren’t done in a timely way, the city has a right to cancel the agreement.”

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Moreover, the college district must sign off on stadium promotional events by the Suns, which created a stir in Palm Springs with racy marketing ploys such as “Nude Night.” The city can also pull out of the agreement if problems are uncovered during an environmental study that is nearing completion.

DiCarlo declined to discuss the possibility of competition from a Camarillo-based team.

“Our plans will continue to move forward,” he said. “I’ll wait for the California League to decide. Right now, I don’t want to comment.”

To build support for the Suns, DiCarlo has launched a weekly sports television show on KSTV in Ventura, as well as a sports talk show on Spanish-language station 1590 AM in Oxnard. He has also made frequent appearances before civic groups such as the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs.

“We’re progressing,” DiCarlo said. “We’ve been vitally involved in the community.”

Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez said the county may not be able to support more than one minor league team.

“I think two teams would find it difficult,” Lopez said. “Even one might. There would be a lot of pressure. The public is very fickle, and everyone wants a winner.”