Baseball NZ bid leaves ABL boss impressed

A New Zealand baseball team in the Australian league has taken another step closer to becoming a reality.

Baseball Australia chief executive Cam Vale was in the country last week to meet Baseball NZ, check out North Harbour Stadium, where the team will initially be based, and watch some of the New Zealand under-13 national championships.

The Australia Baseball League is looking to expand from six to eight teams next season, taking place over the summer months.

Baseball NZ wants teams to be based in

Vale revealed to Stuff compelling.

‘‘I pretty much like it all,’’ Vale said of Baseball NZ’s bid.

‘‘They’re going to one of those Auckland and that its bid is shake up the competition in the right manner, by a team coming in on a real position of strength.

‘‘The specifics I really like are that the venue is potentially going to be significant, their real commitment to make it a team representative of New Zealand and particularly, Auckland.

‘‘There is the diversity of the population in Auckland and our push with the ABL is about Australia and New Zealand, but also our reach into Asia, particularly Japan, Korea and Taiwan.’’

North Harbour Stadium would be reconfigured to accommodate a baseball diamond and it would be the biggest venue in the ABL.

The team would either keep it as a permanent base, or stay until a baseball specific stadium is built.

Vale says he’s been impressed with the financial model proposed by Baseball NZ.

Currently, Baseball Australia owns all six teams in the league, but it is looking at selling them off to private investors, with the Canberra Cavalry expected to be the first team licensed out.

The New Zealand team would have its own investors, with Ryan Flynn, who has temporarily stood down as Baseball NZ CEO, expected to run the club.

‘‘There’s the professional approach they’re taking to make the franchise sustainable for a long period of time, engage the communities and engage the fans,’’ Vale said.

‘‘In baseball, winning and losing is obviously important, but teams aren’t successful when the business model isn’t right.

‘‘We’re 85 per cent of the way through it and the business model to really building a strong team that’s going to benefit the Australian teams, is just compelling.’’

An announcement as to who the successful expansion bidders are will be made in the next few weeks, but even if New Zealand misses out this time, which is unlikely, Vale says there could be an opportunity to join the following season.

‘‘We’re really focused now on getting a seventh and eighth team, so expansion by two,’’ Vale said.

‘‘We’ve made it clear that expansion for us is not a next year and done, we’re keen to look at expansion continually.

‘‘There is certainly enough interest for two teams and maybe one or two more, but we want to make sure we’ve got the strongest possible teams coming in on an expansion basis.’’