Wichita becomes newest member of American Association
Posted: Wednesday, August 08, 2007
WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita became the newest member of the American Assocation of Independent Baseball when the city council of the Kansas community approved the Wichita Thunder ownership group to begin a new era of professional baeball here.
Wichita will begin play in the American Association next season and joins Grand Prairie, Texas, as the two latest expansion teams in the independent circuit.
As part of the agreement the Thunder will also lease the long-running National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series from the city of Wichita.
By doing so, it ensures the premier amateur event will remain in Wichita, where it was founded in 1931 as the National Semi-Pro Baseball Congress State Tournament.
Tuesday, the Wichita city council approved the purchase of the National Baseball Congress for $1 million from Rich Baseball, which owned the NBC and the Wranglers.
Rich Baseball is moving the Wranglers, a Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals in the Texas League, to Springdale, Ark., for the 2008 season.
The new investor's group for the, as yet unnamed American Association club, includes Horn Chen, the owner of the Wichita Thunder of the professional Central Hockey League. The group will also maintain the running of the NBC, which the team would lease from the city of Wichita.
"Wichita is a hotbed of baseball and will be a tremendous addition to the league,'' said Sioux City Manager Ed Nottle. "It'll be a great arm to join what I feel is a very strong league.
"Still, though, I'd like to see Kansas City come back into the league and leave the Northern League. I'd really like to see the American Association become a one-division league.''
Wichita was a member of the original American Association from 1956-58 and 1970-84.
The newest Association Club will play in Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, which was built in 1934 and has capacity of 6,058.
Sioux City, Sioux Falls, St. Paul, Lincoln, St. Joseph, Shreveport, El Paso, Fort Worth, Coastal Bend and Pensacola are the current members of the AA.
Wichita will begin play in the American Association next season and joins Grand Prairie, Texas, as the two latest expansion teams in the independent circuit.
As part of the agreement the Thunder will also lease the long-running National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series from the city of Wichita.
By doing so, it ensures the premier amateur event will remain in Wichita, where it was founded in 1931 as the National Semi-Pro Baseball Congress State Tournament.
Tuesday, the Wichita city council approved the purchase of the National Baseball Congress for $1 million from Rich Baseball, which owned the NBC and the Wranglers.
Rich Baseball is moving the Wranglers, a Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals in the Texas League, to Springdale, Ark., for the 2008 season.
The new investor's group for the, as yet unnamed American Association club, includes Horn Chen, the owner of the Wichita Thunder of the professional Central Hockey League. The group will also maintain the running of the NBC, which the team would lease from the city of Wichita.
"Wichita is a hotbed of baseball and will be a tremendous addition to the league,'' said Sioux City Manager Ed Nottle. "It'll be a great arm to join what I feel is a very strong league.
"Still, though, I'd like to see Kansas City come back into the league and leave the Northern League. I'd really like to see the American Association become a one-division league.''
Wichita was a member of the original American Association from 1956-58 and 1970-84.
The newest Association Club will play in Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, which was built in 1934 and has capacity of 6,058.
Sioux City, Sioux Falls, St. Paul, Lincoln, St. Joseph, Shreveport, El Paso, Fort Worth, Coastal Bend and Pensacola are the current members of the AA.
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