Bring the Golden Baseball League to Medford

This is an official petition being present to the City Council of Medford, Oregon, and to the Commissioners of Jackson County, Oregon, in regards to the return of professional baseball to the Rogue Valley.

In 2000, the longtime fans and friends of the Southern Oregon Timberjacks baseball team were left heartbroken when THEIR team relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and were rechristened the Vancouver Canadians. Even more heartbreaking was when the historic Miles Field was ordered torn down by the city to make way for a new Wal-Mart SuperCenter.

Politics aside, the primary reason for this petition is the bring a new team to Medford in the form of a Golden Baseball League expansion team. In 2004, the same year that Miles Field was demolished, the league was founded and awarded teams to cities that lost Western League franchises such as Chico, California; Long Beach, California; and Yuma, Arizona; and later Reno, Nevada; and St. George, Utah. It has come to the attention of the author of this petition that Medford was on the list of possible GBL charter cities, but was unable to grant the city a team because of the lack of an appropriate stadium. Furthermore, a poll that was posted at the league website indicated that, among a list of possible cities to be awarded an expansion franchise with the league, 46% voted for Medford, Oregon, while other cities received less than 25% of the votes. That is proof that it's not only the residents and fans in Medford that want pro baseball back in the city, but fans elsewhere also believe that the city can benefit from having an independent team come in.

We are aware of the bylaws at Harry & David Field that prevent a professional team from playing at that ballpark, as was reported by the Medford Mail Tribune in April of 2004. While it can be debated for years, we feel that an alternative solution to resolve this issue is to build a new satdium in another part of Medford, or in nearby Central Point, that would accommodate ONLY a professional team. It would also accommodate a college team should either Southern Oregon University and/or Rogue Community College decide to start up a program. It will need public support, but we feel that the public would accept this alternative.

We know that this endeavor will take a good deal of support from the public, a proper group of investors and a good amount of money, but if you look into the benefits of the Golden Baseball League being in your city, you will know how everyone will benefit: the fans, the team, the players and just as important -- the community.

Should this franchise be allowed to set up operations in the city of Medford, our hope is that they can adopt the name, logo, colors, uniforms and history of the Southern Oregon Timberjacks that seemingly was left behind by the previous franchise that left for Canada and basically abandoned the legacy of the Timberjacks. The team is our identity and feel that it should live on with a new expansion team from the GBL.

We encourage you to go to the Golden Baseball League's official website at www.goldenbaseball.com and find out more about the league and the benefits that come from it. We believe that a good number of fans will attend games and the city and county CAN benefit from this league like they did with the old Northwest League team. This league is fan-friendly and community-supportive and continues to thrive since in 2004 inception. Please consider this petition and show your support for a new professional baseball team in the Rogue Valley!