According to a North County Times article, the San Diego Padres and Cal State San Marcos have engaged in preliminary talks about the possibility of moving the Padres Triple-A franchise to the San Marcos campus. The Padres will lose their Triple-A affiliation with the Portland Beavers at the end of the season when the Beavers’ current home stadium is converted to a soccer-only venue after the 2010 season.
“We do have interest in placing a minor-league franchise in our territory, and the only territory that makes sense is North County,” Jeff Moorad, vice chairman and CEO of the Padres, said Wednesday.
Moorad declined to say “which municipality has contacted us.” However, Cal State San Marcos public information officer Margaret Lutz confirmed the school has discussed the matter with the Padres.
“There has been one meeting, all at high levels,” Lutz said. “They are only in the conceptual stage.”
The new team would probably be Triple-A, the highest level of minor-league baseball, because the Padres will lose their Triple-A affiliate in Portland, Ore., when its home stadium is converted to a soccer-only stadium after the season.
To accommodate a Triple-A team, Cal State San Marcos would need to build a stadium that seats at least 10,000 —- something that would probably cost $35 million to $50 million, Moorad estimated.
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