Don't know if there is any truth to this, or whether anyone else has seen this article yet but I think it's worth posting:
Article:
http://www.yourottawaregion.com/spor...back-to-ottawa
Daniel Nugent-Bowman - Apr 11, 2011
Return of minor-league team could happen by 2013
College Coun. Rick Chiarelli believes Ottawa is getting closer to securing a professional baseball team, which could happen as early as the 2013 season.
Chiarelli made headlines last November after admitting he was “embryonic stages” of bringing a minor-league affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays to the nation’s capital.
Now Chiarelli – who is in talks with Orleans Coun. Bob Monette and Brian Carolan, president and spokesperson for the Ottawa Stadium Group – believes a pro-level team could be in the works if the Ottawa Stadium is up kept.
Ottawa Major Jim Watson delayed a plan that would have seen the stadium’s parking lot transformed into condominiums, offices and retail buildings on April 5.
He added that the success of the Ottawa Fat Cats’ inaugural season in the Intercounty Baseball League also factored into the reasoning.
“If we are successful in securing a professional team that happened to be affiliated with the Blue Jays, it will only improve the popularity of the sport and sustainability of the franchise for many years to come,” said Chiarelli in a press release on April 11. “We have a lot of work to do at committee and with city council but we are very motivated to assemble a ‘best-use’ scenario to ensure we, as a community, utilize a fantastic city asset and state-of-the-art facility.”
Chiarelli added that he believes Ottawa Stadium is the best baseball facility in Canada, save for the Blue Jays’ Rogers Centre.
Back in November, Mal Romanin, manager of baseball information for the Toronto Blue Jays, said re-negotiating with their farm teams isn’t an option for at least the next two seasons.
“We have agreements with all our affiliates that go through the 2012 season and we’re very happy with all our affiliates at this stage,” he said.
Carolan, however, appears hopeful that when the time comes, Ottawa will be ready.
“After meeting with Councillor Monette and Councillor Chiarelli, we concluded that our efforts in returning professional baseball to Ottawa were being duplicated and that the community would be better served if we all agreed to work as one group and expedite the process in accomplishing the objective,” he said in the release.
The Ottawa Lynx were the city’s last professional minor-league team. Founded in 1993, the Lynx were the Triple-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles and, finally, the Philadelphia Phillies before folding in 2007.
The Rapidz a Canadian-American League team played one season in 2008 before the Fat Cats began play last season.