Brawley to Begin Negotiations With Proposed Minor League

The Valley-based Golden State League of Professional Baseball moved a step closer to fruition Wednesday when the city of Brawley signed a letter of intent to begin detailed negotiations with organizers of the proposed league.

Brawley, located in the desert east of San Diego, is the second city to sign a good-faith letter with the league, which hopes to begin play next summer in six Southland cities. Palmdale signed earlier this summer.

The Golden State, designed as an independent minor league with no major-league affiliation, plans to build $5.5 million stadiums in each host city. The cities are asked to provide 25 acres of land plus infrastructure, such as utility hookups.

The league would own the stadiums, sign the players and operate the teams.

League President Bob Weinstein, an investment banker from Chatsworth, must bring aboard four more cities and produce the $50 million he says the league has lined up through investors and advertisers.

“The financing scheme has to come together,” said Tom Fox, executive director of the Brawley Economic Development Commission.

Fox said Brawley is considering several possible stadium sites, including some that are privately owned. The city is putting together an advisory committee composed of city council members and community leaders to analyze the details of Weinstein’s proposal.

“Things are looking good,” Weinstein said. “There’s breath and air in this thing now.”

If the league comes to pass, it would mark only the second time in 40 years that the greater San Fernando Valley region has had a minor-league team.