Pacific Suns Baseball Franchise Terminated

After just one season in Ventura County, the Pacific Suns have been kicked out of their league, hurling another--and likely a final--strike at the debt-ridden minor league baseball franchise.

At a meeting last week in Reno, leaders of the Western Baseball League voted to terminate the Suns franchise “pursuant to the league’s bylaws,” said Tom Kowitz, league executive director..

In an interview, Suns CEO Paul Regina said the team’s management company, Channel Islands Sports Management, owes at least $750,000 to the league and about 80 other businesses. That debt, along with the lack of a venue for next season’s games, prompted the league to drop the team.

“Not having a lease for ’99 and the size of the debt equals the company being insolvent, and on those two counts alone the bylaws kicked in to where they were compelled to yank the franchise,” Regina said, calling the Suns’ financial situation “a monstrous mess.”

Channel Islands Sports Management will likely declare bankruptcy and dissolve, he said.

However, he and the team’s other investors are considering other ways to keep professional baseball in Ventura County.

“The shame of it is there’s so much interest out there,” he said.

Regina blamed the Suns’ former president, Don DiCarlo, for dragging the franchise into the red. He said he will soon turn over to the district attorney’s office records from DiCarlo’s tenure with the team.

DiCarlo resigned from the team’s board last month but is still the Suns’ largest shareholder. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

Reorganizing the team in time for next season is an unlikely prospect, Kowitz said. Business plans must be submitted to the league by Oct. 15 and must include a commitment for a place to play.

The Suns played at Oxnard College this season, but neighbors irate over noise and traffic filed suit to have the team removed.

The Pacific Suns started life in 1995 as the Palm Springs Suns and soon became known for their garish publicity stunts, including “Nude Night” and “Drag Queen Night.”

But the re-christened team’s reputation as being debt-heavy and outrageous preceded it to Ventura County, prompting the college district to place restrictions on its promotional themes.

The Suns sat out the ’97 season before taking up temporary residence at Oxnard College this year. The team had hoped to build its own stadium by 2000.

But the first season in Ventura County was fraught with losses, both on and off the field.

The team finished last in the league, with a 28-62 record, DiCarlo resigned, the team’s general manager was fired and its players walked out for a day. The league received complaints of unpaid debts, Suns shareholders sued each other, and some south Oxnard residents continued to beat the drum against the team’s intrusion into their neighborhood.

The Suns, who played in the WBL’s Southern Division, finished sixth of eight overall in attendance, with an average of 1,136 fans for each home game.

The season did end on a high note: In a Sept. 2 away game, the Suns defeated the Chico Heat 9-8.

Chico went on to win the ’98 league championship.

The Western Baseball League, based in Portland, Ore., is composed of eight independently owned and operated teams in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Having just ended its fourth season, the independent professional minor league is not affiliated with major league baseball.