By DARIN ALLRED
Register Sports Editor
Gainesville’s historic Locke Field has been the home field for several teams over the years, from the Gainesville Owls (minor league), the Cooke County College Lions (junior college) and the Gainesville Leopards (high school).
But come the summer of 2010, Locke Field could have another tenant.
The Coppell Copperheads of the Texas Collegiate League (TCL) are looking to relocate out of the Metroplex. Copperheads general manager Robyn Womac along with TCL president Uri Geva were in Gainesville Tuesday to meet with City Manager Barry Sullivan and get a tour of the city and the ballpark.
The TCL currently consists of five teams: The East Texas Pumpjacks in Kilgore, the Brazos Valley Bombers in Bryan, the Victoria Generals, the Coppell Copperheads and the McKinney Marshalls. Geva, in addition to being the president of the TCL is also the owner of the Brazos Valley Bombers.
The league gives college players a chance to continue playing in the summer. To be eligible for the league, a player must have been on a collegiate roster and still have college eligibility remaining. It is similar to the historic Cape Cod League in Massachusetts.
“This is right behind the Cape Cod league as far as the level of play,” Geva said. “Because Texas is such a great place for baseball talent, you get these high school players that go off to Division I schools from the Big 12 to the SEC and some great JUCO players and Division II programs that all send players to our league. It's fun to see all this summer talent right here. One of the neat things is they all use wooden bats. This is where you get that crack of the bat, which is neat to hear in the summer.”
Since the TCL began play five years ago, over 300 of its players have been drafted by Major League Baseball clubs. Two of the most famous former players are Houston Astros All-Star Hunter Pence and Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Bucholz, who threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox last season.
“That's a picture of the kind of talent that you will be able to see hopefully here in the future,” Geva added. “The league is about nine innings of entertainment with some amazing baseball in between. Even if you aren't a baseball fan and you're just looking for some entertainment and affordable family fun, that's what the league tries to do in these markets across the state of Texas. We're really excited about the opportunity here in Gainesville.
In addition to the relocation of the Copperheads, the league is looking to expand. According to Geva, they have visited ballparks in San Marcos, Seguin, Weimer and cities in Oklahoma.
If the Copperheads played in Gainesville, players on the 30-man roster would live with host families. The season runs from the first of June to the second week of August with a four-team playoff occurring after the regular season.
According to Geva, the Coppell franchise is looking to relocate in time for the 2010 season.
“The goal would be to make the announcement in either August or September,” he said. “It takes about eight to nine months to build community support from ticket holders, sponsors and host families.”
Two lead executives (they are not called team owners because it's a non-profit) of the Coppell Copperheads will be in town Aug. 2-3.
“They (the executives) will meet with Mr. Sullivan and negotiate toward a lease if everything is headed in the right direction,” Geva stated. “The Coppell bosses know that it's great to have local ownership. They would love to see the team succeed and grow, but having someone from the local community get on the board of the non-profit and become a partner would be fantastic. Regardless of finding someone local, the team is looking to relocate either here or Greenville, but finding someone local would open so many more doors than an outsider coming into the community.”
During their trip to Gainesville, Geva and Womac were shown around town and visited the Frank Buck Zoo, North Central Texas College and even Winstar Casino. But they were especially impressed with the potential of Locke Field.
“When you find an old ballpark like this and you give it some tender loving care, it's kind of like stepping back in time,” Geva said.
