Officials in Phoenixville (Pa.) say they’ve had discussions with a professional baseball team about placing a team at a new ballpark in the Chester County community if funds for a new ballpark can be raised.
It’s not a new idea: we covered it a year ago when a steering committee of 20 Phoenixville and Chester County residents formed to look at various locations and funding options, as well as what kind of baseball to go after, for a new ballpark. Realistically, we’re talking either an independent Atlantic League team or a short-season NY-Penn team, given the size of the market and the location of the ballpark.
Councilman David Gautreau says his borough has been in contact with a team about a new ballpark, which would be part of a much larger development at the former Phoenix Steel Co. site. The firm closed in 1976, and since then Phoenixville has struggled financially.
But developers have discovered the virtues of large, undeveloped plats of land in suburban Philadelphia, and the Phoenix Steel Co. site is 120 acres strong. A ballpark would be part of a larger development that includes plenty of rental housing and retail space. To say things are at a preliminary stage is an understatement, but it’s no secret Chester County has been on the radar of affiliated and independent minor leagues for some time now.
RELATED STORIES: New-ballpark chat in Phoenixville
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