Orem Owlz reportedly on the move
The Orem Owlz, the advanced rookie team of the Los Angeles Angels, will leave Orem and head to Pueblo, CO. The local news channel News 5 comes with this news even though the city council of Pueblo hasn’t approved the funding of the future ballpark yet.
According to the news channel, an official announcement will be made coming Wednesday.
The city of Pueblo has made proposals to build a six field baseball complex that could host youth baseball tournaments. Part of the complex would be a brand new ballpark, suitable for Pioneer League baseball. But the funding of the ballpark isn’t a done deal yet. Pueblo County’s current funding proposal for the ballpark calls for the county to issue taxable certificates of participation for up to $25 million, to be backed by tax increment financing. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the county is proposing to assume all of the debt risks, but has asked the city to provide 3% of its 3.7% sales and use tax plus 4.3% of its lodging tax revenue generated in the area for 25 years. The local Pueblo newspaper Chieftain states the county is also asking the city to “direct the Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority to remove identified parcels out of any existing urban renewal project areas that are producing minimal amounts of tax revenues and comprising a new project area from those identified parcels.”
The deal between the city of Pueblo and the owner of the Owlz represents a substantial investment in Pueblo by the team owner who has committed to building three new downtown hotels and plans to launch a new national youth baseball tournament that is expected to bring 500 families per week to Pueblo from around the country.
The team owner previously told News 5 that the public investment in new youth baseball fields at the Runyon Sports Complex is what most attracted him to the community. In 2016, Pueblo voters passed the Youth Entertainment Sports ballot question 1A which let the County keep excess revenue from expiring corporate tax incentives. The ballot issue identified 20 specific improvements where the money was to be spent.
Last week, the Pueblo County Commissioners asked permission to move on with the ballpark project and that is what they got by the Pueblo city council. Of course these commissioners say the ballpark will be the best that ever happened to Pueblo. Others who propose the construction of the ballpark say that a new ballpark isn’t needed as there is a ballpark in Pueblo. Hobbs Field was opened in 1934 and improved to a ballpark in 1938. Improvements were made in 1947 so the ballpark could host a Western League team, the Pueblo Dodgers which was affiliated to their Brooklyn namesake. Sure Hobbs Field will not meet today’s standards, but those who oppose the new ballpark are right; there is a ballpark that could serve as the home for the future Pioneer League team, likely with some improvements.