College Board Allows Suns to ‘Play Ball’

Satisfied that the deal will not harm its educational mission, Ventura County Community College District Board of Trustees agreed Tuesday night to allow Oxnard to use a college ball field for a minor-league baseball team itching to move from Palm Springs.

The college district’s approval means that the Palm Springs Suns could begin playing at Oxnard College in spring 1998, or perhaps a year earlier if another team withdraws from the Western Baseball League.

“It’s a pleasure to see everybody coming together for something that is so good for the community,” said Don DiCarlo, the team’s owner. “God willing, we’ll get the [Oxnard] City Council to see things the same way and have professional baseball in Ventura County.”

The Oxnard City Council must now approve the agreement and could take up the issue as soon as Thursday.

But the Suns have other hurdles to overcome before the team can toss its opening pitch.

Western League officials said that DiCarlo must first settle the team’s debts, including $28,000 that the city of Palm Springs claims it is owed--a debt that DiCarlo disavows.

“One of the things that the Suns are required to do, in order to get an approval for this move, is to provide us with a list of all of the payables and confirmation that they will be paid off,” said Western League President Bruce Engel.

“They haven’t done that yet,” he said.

To satisfy minor-league standards, DiCarlo also needs to upgrade the Oxnard College baseball field with additional bleachers and lighting. Oxnard officials have offered to loan DiCarlo $250,000 to refurbish the facility, if necessary.

But Mayor Manuel Lopez on Tuesday said he would not support any loan unless the team resolves its other debt issues.

“They are of utmost concern to me,” Lopez said. “All of those things are going to have to be researched and worked out and explained if we were to give them the loan. I’m supportive of it in theory, but all of those hurdles would have to be met.”

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DiCarlo disputes that he owes $28,000 to Palm Springs, saying he has never received an invoice for that amount. He also said the team is leaving Palm Springs with $350,000 in improvements to its baseball stadium, and predicted the matter would end in an “amicable settlement.”

Palm Springs remains eager to collect the back rent, concession and utility payments from the Suns, said Alan Denfeld, a Palms Springs park official. “We have been trying to work with them since last spring when we put them on the repayment schedule, but it has been frustrating,” he said.

Before the Suns can move in, the community college district has insisted that the city conduct an environmental review by March that will assess any increased parking, traffic, noise, or security problems minor-league play would have on the adjacent residential neighborhood.

College officials also required the city to establish a special task force of college, city and team officials to resolve any problems raised by neighboring residents.

Eager to distinguish their city, Oxnard officials have been gung-ho to attract a minor-league team. The cause took on urgency when neighboring Ventura began to consider building its own minor-league baseball stadium.

Urged for a quick decision by Oxnard officials, the college board of trustees first considered the matter last month, but balked after learning of neighborhood complaints and other potential problems.

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Trustees Pete Tafoya and Allan Jacobs were ready to approve the idea, but trustees Norman Nagel and John Tallman opposed leasing the ball field until more careful analysis of potential pitfalls.

The board has since been joined by newly elected trustee Bob Gonzales, a Santa Paula police commander.

At Tuesday night’s special meeting, all trustees except Tallman approved the licensing contract with Oxnard. Tallman said he did not like the idea of so many people driving through the campus and thought college officials should have held out for a better deal.

But even Tallman’s opposition was lukewarm, ending his remarks on a note of encouragement: “I hope the Suns are successful and I’ll probably go over and root for them. And if there are any problems, we’ll do our best to try to straighten it out.”

The board’s decision came after trustees spent two hours behind closed doors with their attorney, putting finishing touches on a thick contract that ensures the college district carries no financial risk or liability.

As part of the deal, the team has promised to turn a dirt lot at the college into a lighted parking area and build a security fence--a gift that the trustees eagerly accepted.

If the college officials are dissatisfied, they have included a clause in the contract that allows them to cancel the lease after a year.

“This agreement in my opinion tries to maintain a very good neighbor policy,” said Tafoya, who believes a professional baseball team will be good for the community.

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Jacobs echoed Tafoya’s support, pointing out that the deal has many positives and few negatives for the college.

“If there are problems, we will attempt to solve them,” Jacobs said. “And if we can’t, we’ll be out of it in a year.”

Chancellor Philip Westin and his staff assured trustees that they had resolved most of the internal snags, including a potential conflict over part of the parking area now leased by a tree farm.

But some issues, such as the impact of traffic, noise and lights on the neighborhood, will not be fully known or resolved until the plan moves forward, Westin said.

“It is new territory for a community college,” Westin said. No other community college in California has entered into such an agreement, he said, although Saddleback College in Orange County has been negotiating a similar arrangement for months.

Should the Suns play at Oxnard College, the minor-league schedule would not conflict with the college’s own baseball season, Westin said. The college baseball season ends in mid-May, while professional league games run from May 31 through the end of August.