Suns’ Plans to Move to Oxnard Killed for 1997

Minor league baseball owners on Wednesday squashed plans to relocate the Palm Springs Suns to Oxnard, ending 30 days of intense negotiations to bring professional sports to Ventura County.

Saying that its 1997 roster had to be complete by Dec. 1, owners of the Western League’s eight other teams refused to give the Suns a two-week extension to find a suitable baseball field in Oxnard.

The league also complained that the Suns, whose first two years of operation resulted in poor attendance and substantial red ink, did not present a convincing plan of how it would successfully manage the ballclub in 1997.

“Although the city and the Suns expressed an interest, there were no guarantees that in another two weeks they would accomplish that,” said Bruce Engel, league president.

Engel added that the independent league, which is not affiliated with any major league teams, wanted to see the Suns get off to a good start because it views the Oxnard area as a prime location for minor league ball. The owners feared a rushed decision could jeopardize the league’s future in the county, Engel said.

“We will advise the Suns and the city that the league supports the notion of completing a stadium arrangement for a Western League franchise to operate in 1998,” he said, adding that the Suns would remain league members despite sitting out the 1997 season.

Suns owner Don DiCarlo, who had been optimistic of a league extension, said he was disappointed but had no regrets.

“I really think everybody has worked as hard as they could. We have put in 16-hour days throughout--even on the weekends,” DiCarlo said. “The elected officials and the city staff have just done everything a city can do right. I’m extremely impressed. I’ve never been so impressed with a city in my entire life.”

DiCarlo, who moved to Oxnard earlier this month, said he would attempt to arrange one-year contracts with other Western League teams for the Suns’ better players to keep them active next season.

“Certainly we are committed [to Oxnard],” DiCarlo said. “We have to put together a long-term marketing plan for 1998 and we will work with the city and the community to make it a more successful team in that year.”

City leaders also expressed disappointment with the league’s decision, saying they regretted that the ballclub didn’t come to the city sooner.

“It’s just kind of a downer,” said Councilman Bedford Pinkard. “I guess we will look forward to 1998. With the time constraints, I don’t think that we could have done anything any different than we did.”

This marks the end of a whirlwind month of negotiations, discussions and setbacks for the Suns.

On Oct. 28, Oxnard’s city manager and city attorney joined with DiCarlo and the acting president of Oxnard College in signing a nonbinding agreement to relocate the team, without the City Council’s knowledge.

In early November, DiCarlo announced his hopes of coming to the city of Oxnard, saying the city was ripe for baseball.

Despite council criticism of the secret negotiations, the council and the community college board of trustees both gave the go-ahead to their staffs to formulate a final agreement by Monday of this week.

At public hearings on Monday, the City Council unanimously approved a one-year licensing and loan agreement with the Suns. But that evening the Ventura County Community College District trustees rejected a lease on the Oxnard College baseball field, saying there was too little time to review the document.

The trustees’ decision dealt a serious blow to the city’s dreams of bringing minor league ball to Oxnard next year. Residents and some council members were angered by the rejection because the Suns seemed to have the support of many neighborhood groups, Oxnard College student groups and faculty.

Meanwhile, competing proposals to bring minor league teams to Ventura and Camarillo continue to move forward.

An Orange County attorney hopes to construct a privately built stadium on 50 acres of Camarillo farmland, while a 4,500-seat stadium is being proposed for 20 acres near the Ventura Auto Mall.

For now, it appears Oxnard baseball fans will have to wait another year before they can watch minor league games live in their own backyard.

“I think it is unfortunate,” said Pat Simmons, an Oxnard resident. “I’m hoping that the college will reconsider. The college stands to gain so much as well as south Oxnard. I’m a big baseball fan. I would love to see it come here.”