Minor league ownership group delivers pitch to Salinas City Council

The idea that Salinas could be getting a minor league baseball team for the first time in more than 20 years, took a more realistic turn Tuesday.

D.G. Elmore, owner of Elmore Sports Group, met with the Salinas City Council to pitch his idea of bringing the Bakersfield Blaze to Salinas for the start of the 2016 season.

“It’s hard for people to argue against baseball,” Elmore said, who owns six other minor league teams. However, the Blaze have the worst attendance of all of his teams, a motivating factor to move the squad.

Elmore said he hopes to be a part of the economic development in Salinas surrounding the long await of the housing and shopping project, the Alisal Marketplace. Although the ballpark and the marketplace are separate, Elmore said one complements the other.

“I think that Salinas is a community that I’ve sensed is looking for something that can be a real draw and in generating that sense of community and I’m hopeful that baseball is that,” Elmore said.

The proposed venue is the Hayward Lumber site on Front St. Bill Hayward, the company’s CEO, said he had been approached years ago about the potential for a new ballpark in his backyard. Hayward Lumber isn’t going anywhere. Instead, it will downsize it’s property and work on the outer half of the new stadium.

Elmore said the stadium will cost around $15 million to build and will be privately funded. For 70 nights a year, it will be a minor league baseball stadium but Elmore intends to use it for graduations, soccer matches and corporate functions to name a few in the offseason.

Right now, the Bakersfield Blaze is an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds of the California League. The league is made up of 10 teams throughout the state and is a Class A Advanced League, the third-highest ranking within Minor League Baseball.

In 2015, the Blaze will be affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. If the move to Salinas is successful, Elmore said the team would play at the start of the 2016 season.

Although the City Council didn’t vote on Elmore’s presentation, each council member verbally supported the idea in the comment portion of the meeting.