GBL wants to keep Silver Sox in area; local investors sought for team

BY DARRELL MOODY

Appeal Sports Writer

Starting today, Golden Baseball League officials start to get in off-season mode.

Kevin Outcalt, the commissioner of the Golden Baseball League, stressed again that he would like to keep the Reno Silver Sox either in Northern Nevada or Northern California.

Outcalt said he wasn't sure if the Triple-A stadium in downtown Reno would be ready by opening day this spring, but he also knows that the schedule can be juggled and that the Triple-A team is not likely to lose the entire season which means there isn't the possibility of keeping the Silver Sox in Reno.

According to Outcalt, Reno Silver Sox general manager Curt Jacey visited Carson High last week to look at the facilities at Ron McNutt Field. Marysville also is in the running. Redding also is interested, but Outcalt said that Tiger Stadium isn't big enough and is very outdated.

One of the key things for Carson to get a team is if the GBL can find local ownership in Carson. When the league started three years ago, the league owned all the teams. Now, many teams are privately owned.

Outcalt nor any of the GBL staff has yet to talk to officials from the Carson Unified School District or Western Nevada College about using either facility.

"We have three choices (in Carson)," Outcalt said. "We play at McNutt, Western Nevada or a new field gets built."

Outcalt did say that there would have to be more bleachers put in if a GBL team were to play at McNutt Field. Portable dressing rooms would probably have to be added, too.

Western Nevada has limited seating and parking, and not a whole lot of room to put more seats in without significant landscaping.

WNC doesn't have permanent bathrooms or a concession stand.