The first minor-league baseball game in Brighton could be played by May 2009.
The city is partnering with Denver-area resident Fran Zeuli and Ventura Sports Group to identify potential sites for a new 4,000-seat ballpark with 10 luxury suites and grass berm seating for an additional 1,000 people. Similar ballparks have cost up to $18 million.
The ballpark would be the home of an American Association team, which has not yet been identified.
“This is really an entertainment venue as well,” said Susan Stanton, Brighton’s director of economic development. “Fifty days a year is minor-league baseball, and 100 days a year are other kinds of entertainment activity.”
Zeuli, a 25-year cable-television executive, will lead the team ownership group, which will contract with Ventura Sports Group to operate the team and stadium.
Meanwhile, neighboring Commerce City is still working with National Sports Services to bring an American Association minor-league baseball team to the city, said Allen Fears, the company’s chief financial officer.
For both teams to succeed, the ballparks would need to be about 15 miles apart, Fears said.
