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Four bids submitted for Amarillo ballpark lease

Dilla Villa

Four bids were received by Potter County for a lease at Amarillo National Bank Dilla Villa (Potter County Stadium), with some familiar faces in the mix — like the Amarillo Dillas and the American Association — as well as some unfamiliar players.

The Amarillo Dillas bid did strike us as odd. This whole mess was started when Reunion Sports Group, the owner of the Dillas, defaulted on the lease, owing $75,000 in back rent for the 2010 season. However, the Dillas bid says that the team is not affiliated with Reunion Sports Group any longer — but presumably still part of United League Baseball, which is part of Reunion Sports Group. It may be a hard sell to the public why the Dillas were able to land a lease after defaulting on the old one.

Also bidding: Southern Independent Baseball, the outfit led by Scott Berry that’s also involved in a new downtown Amarillo ballpark offer. Berry has been an interested observer during the Potter County deliberations to evict the Dillas, so he presumably has a pretty good idea of what is needed to land the lease. Southern Independent Baseball also owns the Shreveport-Bossier Captains (independent; American Association). Whether the Captains are part of the mix should Berry land the contract remains to be seen.

The final bids came from two relative unknowns, the Pecos League and Amarillo Community Baseball Club. The Pecos League is built on the remnants of the Continental Baseball League, and we’re not entirely sure exactly what teams are in and what teams are merely pipe dreams (the Amarillo Gold Sox are listed in the league lineup, for example). We’re talking about some pretty small New Mexico and Texas towns in the proposed Pecos League lineup.

Image of Potter County Stadium courtesy of the Amarillo Dillas. Photo by Kathy Leigh.

RELATED STORIES: Dillas officially evicted; Potter County to seek new tenant for ballpark; ULB misses final Dillas payment; team could be evicted today; ULB bounces second Amarillo check — but no funds wired this time; ULB bounces check for Amarillo rent, but immediately corrects it

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