VENTURA : Chamber Supports Baseball Stadium

The Greater Ventura Chamber of Commerce has thrown its support behind a proposal to build a minor league baseball stadium near the Ventura Auto Center.

“Having a stadium as a centerpiece for a recreational complex would put Ventura on the map,” said chamber President Jim Friedman. “Let people visit Ventura, enjoy activities at our stadium, our beaches, our harbor, stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants and contribute to our tax base. It’s really a marvelous concept when you think about it.”

Organizers say the stadium, which could be up and running as early as spring, 1996, would cost about $15 million to build. The stadium was originally designed as a joint project among Camarillo, Ventura and Oxnard.

But Camarillo council members have said they do not want to spend any money on the facility, and Oxnard politicians also have hinted that the stadium is hardly a spending priority for them.

Ventura City Councilman Jack Tingstrom, the city’s leading stadium proponent, says he is trying to solicit private donations to make up for any funding shortfalls.

Even if the cities could come up with the money, experts on minor league baseball stadium operations say the facility might not recoup its annual operating expenses, much less make a profit.

But chamber officials said the stadium looked like a winning proposition to them. “This,” Friedman said, “is the shot in the arm Ventura needs.”