(Photo: The Shell Place baseball diamond could be home to a WMBL team as soon as the 2016 season. Bradley Karp / AFTERNOON REPORTER)
The President of the Western Major Baseball League hopes to have an expansion franchise in Fort McMurray within the next three years.
“We have a conditionally approved owner that would like to own a franchise and he’s kind of debating different locations and Fort McMurray is on that list,” said Kevin Kvame, President. “We’re enthused that we think Fort McMurray is going to be a fit for the WMBL in the future it’s just a matter of getting the dots connected.”
According to the league president Fort McMurray is on the ‘A’ list for expansion along with Calgary and Saskatoon. The league wants to expand from ten teams to 16 within the next five to seven years.
“We fully expect the WMBL will be in the community [Fort McMurray] in the next three years at maximum,” said Kvame.
The league has been in contact with the Regional Recreation Corporation about a lease at the new Shell Place ball diamond. “I’ve talked to them at least once and I have another message in from them, I don’t know where that sits. I think suffice it to say it’s at preliminary stages,” said Kvame.
He hopes to make an announcement about expansion by the end of September, and is looking at making a trip to Fort McMurray at the beginning of the month.
The WMBL is a collegiate summer league with teams across Alberta and Saskatchewan.
