Frisco, TX – Professional baseball in Frisco seems to be on it’s way out the door. Ray C. Davis, Frisco’s owner, who grew up in Austin, is doing what nobody ever thought a Texas boy would do. He’s planning to move the team out of Texas. While neither the league office nor the Roughriders organization were willing to comment, sources close to the situation insist Frisco will be moving this off-season.
“We’re not really sure exactly where it’ll be,” the source continued. “Minneapolis, maybe. New York City seems like an option. Ray [Davis] is getting a little bit of a bidding war started.”
Talking to executives around the league, nobody is surprised. Davis had reportedly been thinking about leaving Texas for over a year.
“The commish, Imasa, he came to Davis one off-season about maybe moving out of Texas. More league balance, since Richardson City was getting a team. There was no pressure, of course, just an offer,” the same source told me. “Davis declined, but it got the wheels spinning in his head. He’s been looking for a less competitive market ever since.”
New York City makes some sense, but competing with Syracuse and even Montreal for fans doesn’t seem ideal. Why not just stay in Texas, then?
Minneapolis or somewhere in Colorado would appear to be ideal locations, as far as league balance. Here’s a look at the current locations of each CBL team, with Frisco removed.
Look at that gap! Almost as big as the one Frisco’s defenders created night after night. The bible belt and freezing humans are ignored!
Montana, Wyoming and Idaho could all share a team, and the four fans that would go with it. Chicago could be intriguing, although the league really does need teams in the fly over states. Oklahoma City could also be a possibility.
League executives don’t expect Davis to sell the team, he prefers to move them himself. That makes sense, as the teams value should only increase with a taxpayer funded shiny new stadium in whichever city they choose. Ryan Braun, who recently signed an extension, put in a good word for Milwaukee.
“Let’s move them back to Milwaukee,” Braun told me. “Tell Ray that. Milwaukee’s great. The fans love me. Nobody else does. Please tell him to bring me back there.”
Twitter exploded with rumors this past weekend that Jake Taylor, former Indians catcher and Mexican League star, had looked into buying the team and moving them somewhere in Mexico. Davis, of course, refused to sell.
It should be interesting to see where the team ends up, but sources insist they will be elsewhere when next season begins. Frisco, you hardly knew these choke artists, so don’t be too sad.
