Pueblo minor league baseball plan — on or off?
There’s uncertainty in Pueblo about whether the arrival of a minor league baseball team will happen.
According to KRDO NewsChannel 13’s news partner, the Pueblo Chieftain, the owner of the Orem (Utah) Owlz, an A-league team affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels, has canceled plans to move the team.
Pueblo County officials said they were notified Wednesday that owner Jeff Katofsky won’t bring the Owlz to Pueblo.
Officials said Katofsky was unhappy about the lack of progress being made on the project.
But according to a release issued by the county Wednesday evening, Katofsky has not formally announced that the deal is over.
The release quoted Katofsky as saying in a Wednesday morning email, “Looks like Pueblo has killed the deal.”
However, the release mentions that County Commissioner Sal Pace has spoken with Katofsky several times since the email.
“I never read that email to mean that the project is done,” Pace said. “As of today, no formal position has been taken.”
Under the plan, the county was to build a $25 million multi-purpose stadium at the north end of the Pueblo Riverwalk.
In June, organizers said a $66 million tax increase approved by voters in 2016 will initially pay for the ballpark, and Katofsky will repay the city through tax revenue generated by the construction of three hotels — two to be located near the ballpark.
This week, officials said Katofsky apparently still plans to build three hotels downtown that were part of the stadium deal.
It’s unclear whether canceling the team’s move will affect Katofsky’s intent to build new youth baseball facilities near historic Runyon Field.
“Not only will your kids have a place to play, but your businesses will do better because we’re going to bring tourism here that you haven’t seen before,” Katofsky said during the June 20 announcement on the team’s pending arrival.
Katofsky said construction on the stadium would begin later this year and the Owlz would begin playing in Pueblo in 2020.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 is working to bring you more details on this developing story.
