Baseball backers aim for 2005 season

WINDSOR – The investment group that wants to bring minor league baseball to Northern Colorado wants detente with the Colorado Rockies.

That means giving up plans to lure an independent team to the area.

Instead, officials for Northern Colorado Professional Baseball LLC are focusing their energies on buying an affiliated minor league team, with hopes to play ball in 2005.

The most likely target for an acquisition is the Pioneer League, an eight-team Rookie League that includes teams in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. The league includes the Casper Rockies, which is affiliated with the Rockies’ minor league system.

“We’re in contact with people, seeing if franchises are available, and currently there are none,´ said Bill Stewart, a spokesman for the baseball organizers. “We’ve been told that if a franchise is going to be sold, it’s going to be the end of the season. So, we’re looking at the end of August or September.”

The Pioneer League plays a so-called “short season,” which starts in mid-June and ends with playoffs in early September.

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