12/6/2017-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs
Contact: Tucson Saguaros
Tucson@pecosleague.com 520-909-5600
Tucson Saguaros Moving to Reid Park #5
The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs
has announced that the Tucson Saguaros will
move from Kino to Reid Park for the 2018
season.
This will serve as their primary location for
home games Thursday-Friday-Saturday and
Sundays.
The field was built by the Colorado Rockies in
1993, when the Major League team held Spring
Training in Tucson.
Field No. 5 will initially have a capacity to
accommodate 1,000 fans, which includes room for
300 fans in private chair seating and 700 in
the grand stands.
Pointing to the costs involved with playing in
Kino, which has a fan capacity exceeding
11,000, Pecos League Commissioner, Andrew Dunn,
said,
"From the first day we moved to Tucson in 2015
almost all supporters recommended the Saguaros
to move to Hi Corbett. Hi Corbett was never an
option.
Reid #5 was built as a mirror of Hi Corbett.
We will have locker rooms for home and away
players and the City will be responsible for
cleanup.
Those were the two biggest issues at Kino. Our
agreement didnt allow for use of locker rooms
at Kino.
Kino was the premier facility in our league in
2016 and was a great place to launch the
Saguaros.
In 2017 when we moved into former 2016
California League affliated ballparks (High
Desert and Bakersfield) they were much better
for our league.
We now have several stadiums that are similar
for much less cost and much better amenties for
the players.
Bakersfield and High Desert hosted affliated
minor league baseball in 2016 and had locker
rooms and full amenities for the players and
became the centerpoint for our league.
The cost to play in Kino is more than the other
11 teams combined and playing one game there
cost more than most teams lease for the entire
season.
At the end of the 2017 season, supporters began
to question whether we could survive at Kino.
Many thought the Saguaros were done in Arizona
in general.
In August of 2017, Kino publicly released a
statement in an attempt to get the Milwaukee
Brewers to move Spring Training to Tucson.
This move would have included their Arizona
Summer League Team which would have displaced
the Saguaros.
The Saguaros nor the Pecos League were notified
of the possibility of the Brewers.
We knew Kino was no longer an option.
Reid Park was an outside of the box thought
process that will allow baseball to stay in
Tucson.
We researched every possible angle to try to
stay in Tucson and Reid Park is the best
option.
JD Droddy, the Saguaros inaugural manager in
2016 and who still serves as a consultant to
the league, issued the following statement:
"Two things were in play in making this
decision:
(1) professional baseball is a business and
teams must at least be able to break even
financially in order to sustain operations in a
particular location; and,
(2) Tucson is a very special place for the
Pecos League, and we wanted to find a way to
remain here and bring professional baseball to
the fabulous fans who have supported us the
past two years.
The fact that the City has stepped up to help
us is great. The Reid Park option allows us to
stay, which from my personal standpoint is
fantastic.
I love Tucson and the great fans who gave us
tremendous support during our record-breaking
championship run in 2016, as well as last year.
We are going to do everything we can to
continue to bring quality professional baseball
to the Old Pueblo. The Saguaros are the latest
in a string of professional baseball teams to
have played in Kino Stadium, but subsequently
moved elsewhere. "
Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium is owned by Pima
County.
Reid Park is owned by the City of Tucson. The
City also formerly operated adjacent Hi Corbett
Field; however, effective July 1, 2017, the
City no longer operates that facility.
The timing of the move was perfect for the
Pecos League and the City of Tucson.
The City of Tucson lost control adjoining of Hi
Corbett Field July 2, 2017 and wanted to have a
field that could serve as a championship field
for the many tournaments and leagues they host
at the Reid Sports Complex.
The agreement between the Saguaros and the City
includes locker rooms for both the home and
visiting teams, as well as a coachs office.
It also provides maintence and cleanup that
were major issues of conflict at Kino. The
location of the field and the quality of the
playing surface will be 2nd to none in Tucson
and the Pecos League.
Reid Park was the location of professional
baseball for over 50 years. The location of
Kino Ballpark is the main problem is drawing
fans and has always been a problem in Tucson.