Fronteras

There’s a chance the Tucson Padres minor league baseball team could play another season in the city.  The Padres signed an agreement that allows them to stay in Tucson next year if the franchise's new stadium in El Paso isn’t ready to open on time.

The Padres were purchased by a group of Texas investors last year, and now the team is waiting for construction of their $61 million stadium to wrap up in El Paso. 

Padres’ General Manager Mike Feder said the agreement with Pima County allows the minor league team to stay in Tucson if work on the new stadium falls behind schedule early next year. 

“The owners of the El Paso club virtually decided to renew a second year as a caveat, an insurance policy really, in case anything were to go wrong with the construction of the El Paso ballpark” Feder said.

The Padres relocated to Tucson from Portland two years ago and Feder said the team didn’t have time to win over local baseball fans. 

He said the Padres’ attendance this season hit 200,000, the lowest in the Pacific Coast League.