Bellingham still longs for baseball team

Hope that a minor league baseball team could return to Bellingham next year went down swinging when potential owner Ron Cameron failed to come up with the Western Baseball League's $300,000 expansion fee.

Cameron and a group of Midwest investors had until Nov. 20 to provide the WBL with the expansion fee, a financial statement and to organize their ownership. Unfortunately, the group could only meet two of the criteria.

Everything was set for Cameron's group, when at the eleventh hour, one investor backed out.

"Everyone else was ready to go," Cameron said. "We planned to go ahead without him, but everything came apart too quickly."

Originally, Cameron planned to put together a new team. Now he says his intention is to acquire an existing WBL team, the Bend, Ore., Bandits, and relocate the team to Bellingham for play in spring 2000.

WBL president Bruce Engel has already received a proposal from Bend owners about the sale of the Bandits to Cameron. Cameron and his group of investors were to have until the next WBL owner's meeting, Dec. 7, in Portland, Ore., to come up with their proposal for purchasing the franchise, Engel said.

Engel said the WBL had expected to field an eight-team league made up of two divisions in 1999. But with expansion in Bellingham falling through and Bend owners intending to sell their franchise and have it relocated, the WBL will have only six teams next year.

"The plus-side is Mr. Cameron will have more time to get preparations in order and that will give him a better opportunity to succeed," Engel said.

Meanwhile, Cameron said his next steps are to meet with his attorney and put together a proposal for the Dec. 7 meeting as quickly as possible.

"I was more disappointed for the people of Bellingham than I was for myself," Cameron said of his franchise falling through for 1999.

Without a professional baseball team since 1996, it appears Bellingham will have to wait at least another year for a franchise.

"We were disappointed baseball wouldn't be returning in 1999," Bellingham Parks and Recreation director Byron Elmendorf said. "It would have offered fans and the community a different level of activity to view. However, it doesn't change our plans (for Joe Martin Field) at all. There will be more time for other activities such as more youth baseball in the summer."

Bellingham is not a stranger to minor league baseball. The Bellingham Giants' departure from Bellingham in 1996 marked the end of a 72-year history that baseball shared with the city.

For the past two baseball seasons, the boys of summer who previously roamed the grounds of Joe Martin Stadium have had to call other cities such as Everett, Wash., and Keizer, Ore., home.

Recent baseball history in Bellingham, such as the Seattle Mariners decision to move its Class A affiliate from Bellingham to Everett in 1994 and the disagreement between Bellingham City Council and former owner Jerry Walker that led to the relocation of the Giants in 1996, may signal that baseball in this city is doomed for failure. But Bellingham has also seen its high points.

The Bellingham Bells, a semi-pro team founded in 1940, had a stretch of winning 16 state titles in a 19-year span. Major league all-stars Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Omar Vizquel started their careers in Bellingham. And in 1991, Bellingham led the Northwest A-League in attendance, drawing 89,606 fans in 36 home games.

To ensure that baseball doesn't repeat its recent history, those involved with bringing a team to Bellingham are making sure the new owners don't have the same problems as the last.

Walker moved his team because of disputes over: the playing condition of Joe Martin Field and the rundown locker rooms. Walker wanted $1.5 million worth of renovations to the field which included adding new locker rooms. The city ended up paying $117,000 to improve the locker rooms and more than $50,000 on lighting. Walker also was unhappy with the 1995 lease agreement with the city that increased from $250 a game to $360.

Walker and his wife Lisa now live in Keizer where they relocated the Giants to a city that funded a new $2 million stadium for them. When the Walkers left in 1996, Lisa said she blamed the move on lack of support from the community and city council. Before leaving town, she told The Bellingham Herald the move "had nothing to do with Bellingham and everything to do with politics."

Some city officials are quick to point out they feel they did all they could to keep baseball in Bellingham and that sole blame for baseball leaving lies with Jerry Walker.

"We put in brand new restrooms, updated lighting and everything major league standards wanted and he (Walker) wanted more than that and he was always griping about the lease," City Councilman Gene Knutson said about the disagreement. "... The last two years he was here, attendance went right down the drain. People love baseball, but they got tired of the constant haggling."

From the Walker ordeal, Bellingham has learned its lesson on dealing with demanding owners and now feels it knows what it will take for baseball to succeed permanently.

"The team itself needs to be more connected with the community," Elmendorf said. "I've talked with the fellow (Cameron) that's coming in from Detroit and he's aware of ... how he needs to mend a lot of fences.

"Part of our contract is that they'd do some baseball clinics for young kids and some promotional things such as giving tickets away. He's got to dig out of a hole to start with versus starting from level ground."

Engel feels enough time has passed that the fans are ready for baseball to return.

"Bellingham has a good stadium and community. There's a high likelihood of baseball succeeding," Engel said.

If Cameron is to be the man that brings baseball back to Bellingham, fans will be getting a first-time owner, but Cameron says he makes up for it by being a long-time baseball enthusiast.

Cameron toured the city and stadium in October with Elmendorf and Dennis Subchuk, known in Bellingham as a main supporter for the ice arena. Elmendorf introduced the two because they have a common background -- Subchuk played professional hockey in Detroit and that's where Cameron is from.

"Bellingham is a town that I could really get into. There's so much to do there and I loved the people," Cameron said of his first impression of the city.

"The plan is for me to get into town in May and get involved with the community and talk to people," Cameron said. "I'm not going to be an absentee owner."

Cameron said he became interested in owning a team because he has followed baseball his whole life. A sportscaster for 25 years, Cameron currently works as a host for WPON, an oldies and talk radio station in Detroit.

"You never know, I may want to do my own show in Bellingham," Cameron said.

Subchuk is optimistic about Cameron's chances as an owner.

"He can make it work. He knows his baseball when it comes to promoting it -- he just needs some core backers and eventually a good season-ticket base. You can feel his enthusiasm. He has lots of energy," Subchuk said.

Bellingham fans and businesses near Joe Martin Field have been waiting for a new franchise for nearly two years.

When the Giants left, "there was a loss in revenue in some of the quickie-stores around the park, but the biggest loss was the fans who'd been going to games for 30-40 years. I think we lost more in our love for baseball than we did with any money," Knutson said.

One fan who's ready for baseball to return is Jon Ostby, the owner of Nelson's Market on Potter Street. Ostby said he has been a baseball fan since he was 9.

"I wish the team hadn't moved," Ostby said. "I used to go to a couple dozen games a year. It was great, you were right there on the field. I'd absolutely go if a new team comes in."

Employees at 10 businesses near the stadium said they'd welcome the return of baseball. The contact person at each business said business was not hurt, but there was a noticeable lack of baseball fans in their establishments during the summer.

"I'd notice it in the summer," Pizza Hut shift manager Jason Thayer said. "Occasionally teams would come in and eat after games. Also, we're right off the freeway and fans knew they could eat here then hit the road."

Should baseball return to Bellingham via the WBL, fans will be introduced to a new type of league. Unlike the last minor league teams which were affiliated with the major league Mariners and Giants, the WBL is an independent league.

In the past, the major league affiliates would pay the players and coaches, but in the WBL, the team owner pays all costs including player and coaches' salaries, and the cost of leasing the field and travel expenses.

Should Bellingham begin play in 2000, it would join six other teams. Three teams are from California, one is from Utah, and one is from Nevada. The sixth team, the Tri-City Posse in Pasco, would become Bellingham's geographical rival.

Teams are made up of 22 players. A maximum of eight players can be veterans (more than five seasons of professional baseball), and a minimum of five players must have no professional baseball experience.

The WBL, now in its fifth season, offers 45 home games a year, versus 36 played by the previous minor league teams. Both the Giants and Mariners were A-League (rookies and prospects), but baseball officials say WBL is more like AA baseball (intermediate talent level).

"The premise of independent baseball is to put together community-oriented teams into a community that wants a team or has lost a team in the past," Engel said. "With Bellingham's history, ballpark and city interest, it is an excellent prospect."

The Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department has drawn up a five-year lease in anticipation of some team coming to Bellingham.

The lease includes a $50,000 deposit and has an option for an extension. A flat fee of $20,000 per year would also be required and would cover 45 games plus 10 practice dates. The fee also gives the owner the rights to the field, locker rooms, concession stand and advertising on stadium billboards, Elmendorf said.

Though Cameron lost the battle of being able to put a team together by 1999, if he can still bring a team to Bellingham by 2000, he could end up winning the war.

"It would be very positive for the community and youth if baseball returned to Bellingham. Baseball and apple pie are the American way," Elmendorf said.

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