Oxnard Supports Ventura Site for Ballpark : Stadium: The proposed home for a minor league baseball team is favored, despite traffic and cost concerns. Camarillo has yet to approve it.

Oxnard stroked a solid single Tuesday, joining Ventura on base in a daring drive to bring minor league baseball to a barren Ventura field. But Camarillo may yet hit into a triple play when it goes to bat today.

Despite concerns about cost and traffic, the Oxnard City Council unanimously supported the recommended site for a new $15.6-million stadium just across the Santa Clara River from Oxnard near the Ventura Auto Center.

“There would be a tremendous impact on traffic there,” Councilman Michael A. Plisky said.

He said that the two Ventura Freeway interchanges that would bear most stadium traffic--Victoria Avenue and Johnson Drive--are congested now even before 5,500 fans begin to converge for a ballgame. Costly roadway improvements would be necessary, he said.

“Those are two of the busiest intersections in the county and some of the most underdeveloped,” Plisky said. “How can we determine the feasibility of this site if we don’t know one of the major costs?”

Oxnard Councilman Bedford Pinkard said he was concerned that the road improvements would be too much for Ventura to handle, and that another site may need to be chosen. He mentioned that the parcel offered near Rice Avenue in Oxnard has better freeway access.

The cities of Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo--which are cooperating to bring a Class-A professional team to the county--have agreed that the city where the stadium is built would pay for all needed public improvements except for the stadium.

“If those improvements are a little exorbitant for a city to assume, what will happen with this plan?” Pinkard asked. “We may have to look at the other sites, and that could delay the project. We don’t want to be tied up with that for a long time.”

Leaders of a three-city stadium committee have also acknowledged that Camarillo may balk at approving a stadium--much less paying for it.

“There is no commitment of money (tonight), so I see no reason for it to be voted down,” said Camarillo Mayor Ken Gose, a committee member. “But we know there is going to be some opposition to this. (The funding) is where the tough part will come. It’s going to be very hard.”

Charlotte Craven and David Smith of the five-member Camarillo City Council said Tuesday that the project would drain city coffers and they would not support it.

“I just don’t believe that any public money should be spent on this,” Craven said. “Even if it was to be located in my city, I would feel the same way.”

Pinkard, who represents Oxnard on the committee, said that Camarillo will probably support the Ventura site, but may not contribute as much money as the other cities.

“The two cities may have to foot it,” Pinkard said. “But we’re going to start a very aggressive fund-raising campaign.”

If all three city councils agree on where to put the ballpark, then they must decide whether to form a joint powers authority to pay for the stadium. A proposed Tri-Cities Sports Authority would own and operate the 5,500-seat ballpark and share its costs and profits.

Joe Gagliardi, president of the California League, promised last spring to deliver a Class-A team to the area if someone would build a new park. The three cities spent about $85,000 to hire the Spectrum Group, an experienced sports consultant, to study the idea.

“I think we all knew coming in that it would be a tough thing keeping all the cities together,” said Spectrum Group President Dan Young. “So far, we have all stuck together, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Correspondent J.E. Mitchell contributed to this report.