The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Southern Illinois could see minor league baseball team by 2006

The Southern Illinois community might gain a new pastime in 2006.

The Southern Illinois Baseball Group Inc., a group of investors, is heading a project to buy and relocate a minor league team to Marion.

"We are really close to making this happen, and it is a very exciting proposition for Southern Illinois," spokesman Dennis Poshard said. "I think it will serve as a phenomenal economic engine for Southern Illinois by bringing jobs to the area and serving as an anchor for those who are trying to recruit more jobs to the area."

So far the SIBG has reached an informal agreement to purchase a Class A minor league baseball team, which should be finalized by the winter Major League Baseball meeting later this month, according to Poshard.

But they are still looking for state appropriation to help with financing the stadium. John Simmons, who leads the SIGB, said if the state does come through, there is nothing standing in their way of putting the team in Marion.

"There have been three other cities that have expressed interest in a team, none of which are in Illinois," Simmons said. "However, if we can't pull together state funding, then the bottom line will dictate that we might have to put the team in another location.

"There are just so many dollars to go around, so it is just a matter of what the state decides is a priority."

The plan is to create a $15 million stadium with 4,000 seats near the intersection of Illinois 13 and the west side of Interstate 57, adjacent to the interstate.

The location of the stadium is somewhat of a strategic move in that the access of the stadium would be easier for fans to get in and out of the area, as well as generate better revenue by placing the stadium next to an area of high traffic.

"If you have a site where 60,000 are going by the stadium a day, then obviously the revenue for naming rights and sponsorship deals are going to be increased."

The process to bring a team to the area began in 2003 by a Herrin physician, Dr. William F. Hays, and was later picked up by Simmons and his investment group. Simmons and his law partner Jeff Cooper have also provided funding for renovations to the Southern Illinois University baseball field last year.

There is a rich history of minor league baseball in the Southern Illinois region. The Cairo Egyptians were the Class D Kitty League Champions back in 1902. In the mid-1900s, the Southern Illinois Baseball League held teams from all around the region, including Harrisburg, Herrin and Mt. Vernon.

However, after a struggling wartime economy and the growth of larger metropolitan areas, the teams and leagues in Southern Illinois soon disappeared.