Deal to Buy Ball Team Collapsing

CAMARILLO —  A Camarillo investment firm appears to be pulling out of a deal to purchase a Stockton minor league baseball team and bring it to the city.

The private firm, which calls itself the Camarillo Sports Entertainment Group, began negotiating in July to purchase the Stockton Ports. But the group never completed necessary paperwork, missed deadlines and may now be losing financial backing, according to those close to the negotiations.

“For the first time over the last several months, we can say we are not optimistic anymore,” said Dan Chapman, general manager of the Class A team affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers.

“All along we thought it was going to happen, but something has happened with the people that are trying to acquire the franchise,” Chapman said. “I’m not so sure they have all the people lined up to make the purchase that they thought they’d have lined up.”

No one involved in the negotiations has been willing to come forward and identify the investors, saying they have been sworn to secrecy.

Chapman said he knows of at least six people involved, but said there could be others.

“There are two people whose financial involvement was critical to them acquiring the team,” Chapman said. “Now they’re not so sure if these people are going to be involved.”

Up until Oct. 31, Stockton Ports’ officials were under contractual obligation to negotiate only with the Camarillo group.

“That has obviously passed and they missed it,” Chapman said. “We’re not closing the door completely on them. If there’s anyway to put it together, we will--but we’re in a position where we need to keep other options open.”

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Chapman, however, said that because the group had not firmed up the deal by the deadline, let alone even submitted an application, ties may soon be cut.

The private investment group would have needed to receive approval not only from the California League, but from the National Assn. of Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball to purchase and move the team.

“We gave them until Oct. 31 to surface somebody from their group who is financially worthy enough to go through with this deal--and the league hasn’t heard boo,” said Joe Gagliardi, president of the California League.

“This is over as far as I’m concerned,” Gagliardi said. “Nobody is going anyplace and Stockton will be staying in Stockton.”

As a league prerequisite to move the club, the investors also needed a stadium for the team.

Camarillo has no baseball stadium, but the investors had been involved in a joint effort to develop one.

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There are 147 acres of contiguous properties--owned by three families--along the south side of the Ventura Freeway stretching to the far west end of Camarillo Town Center.

One of the property owners says his family has had talks with the investors over the past two years about developing a stadium on the property.

“There is a joint undertaking of sorts, but I’m not at liberty to give out whose contributing what,” said property owner Bob Pearson, adding that all parties entered into a confidentiality agreement when the process began.

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“It is being looked at to develop into a baseball stadium quite seriously,” Pearson said, providing no further comment.

Camarillo planning officials, however, say they have received no applications from anyone to build a baseball stadium.

“It looked like it was pretty solid about a year ago . . . but over the last six months, the whole thing seems to kind of tailed off and gone away,” City Manager Bill Little said.

Even if the investment group does not succeed in bringing the Stockton Ports to town, Little said the city would still be open to being home to a baseball team and stadium.

“Our council has basically said they would be interested in talking to anyone who might be able to put a baseball team into a facility here, given that they provide the full cost of the facility and whatever it takes to get it in place,” Little said.