Financer of Camarillo Ballpark Backs Out

The principal owners of a proposed minor league baseball franchise in Camarillo will man a booth at the Ventura County Fair to disperse information about their team. Stadium financing fell through last week.

Three weeks ago, owners Ken McMullen, Jim Colborn and Jim Biby won approval from the Pleasant Valley Parks and Recreation District Board to use Freedom Park as the site for a temporary baseball facility for two seasons.

Late last week, however, a private financer withdrew from the deal.

At that time, McMullen said the group had come up with a private source of funding.

“We have an oral commitment from a person to fund the project,” McMullen said Sept. 11. “The identity of that person will be announced later, after we have formalized a deal through an attorney.”

“It was an oral commitment--nothing in writing,” McMullen said Tuesday night. “Subsequent discussions indicated he was no longer interested.”

McMullen, Colborn and Biby are therefore taking their plea to the people. They will be handing out information and answering questions from the team’s booth at the fair, which begins Thursday.