City councillor backs field upgrades to attract new baseball team
An effort to bring a new high-level baseball team to Windsor is receiving support from a Windsor City Councillor.
In an interview with CTV News, Gary Kaschak, the representative for Ward 8, said he would back upgrades to a local baseball diamond to facilitate the added play.
'I believe this is city building, you know, to get something like that and we'd have to make some improvements,' Kaschak said.
The news comes following confirmation that stakeholders in Windsor have reached out to the Intercounty Baseball League about forming an expansion team in the Rose City.
The independent league already features 10 teams, including squads in Chatham-Kent, London and Toronto.
Kaschak noted it would be a 'fantastic' addition to the city's existing sports culture. When asked about a home for the potential team, he suggested Mic Mac Park's Cullen Field.
Amenities at the chosen park must include concessions for fans and change rooms for players and umpires. Large attendance figures in recent years mean teams must also have sufficient seating space.
'I think adding seating would be no issue, but maybe a few more of the amenities that you would need,' Kaschak said.
Inside the baseball community, there's excitement over the potential for more baseball in the city, but not if it takes away from current levels of play.
Bill Kell, the treasurer of the Riverside Minor Baseball Association, feels there's no available time at the existing diamonds.
'If they come in and have to have these facilities for their use for those number of games and practices and so forth, you know, it'd be the demise of some of these organizations,' Kell said.
To accommodate more baseball, Kell said there needs to be a partnership between the potential team and the City of Windsor to build a new stadium in the downtown.
He added, if done successfully, the IBL players will serve as 'heroes' to players in his league.
In the long-term, both Kell and Kaschak were optimistic a team in the IBL could allow Windsor to eventually draw in an MLB team's minor league affiliate.
'Maybe getting an Intercounty League team might be the prelude to that moving forward,' Kaschak said.
'How great would it be to be a farm team of the Detroit Tigers or, you know, have a farm club of the Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland [Guardians] in Windsor.'
In the event Windsor is successful in attracting an IBL team, players could take the field in the 2026 or 2027 season.
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