By Mark Derewicz
November 16, 2001

The Independent Western League announced ambitious plans to expand into the Rocky Mountains with a six-team division for the 2003 season.

Several Colorado towns including Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley and Windsor have already been tabbed as possible expansion sites.

Boulder, home of Colorado University, is perhaps the most intriguing possibility. CU dropped its baseball program in 1980 but the university and Big 12 Conference have expressed interest in bringing it back.

Jim Goldsmith, owner of the dormant Valley Vipers franchise and expansion chairman, said Boulder is on his short list.

"I have not contacted CU but it's on my agenda," he said.

Boulder, located about 30 miles up Route 36 from Denver, would be an ideal fit for new indy league along the front range, but Goldsmith would likely have to work out a deal with the university first. There is no stadium adequate for pro ball in Boulder and Coors Field in Denver is just a pleasant 40-minute drive away.

If the league could partner with CU the way the Northern League did with the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, then Boulder could be an ideal situation.

The same could be said of Fort Collins for that matter. Colorado State University last played ball in the Western Athletic Conference in 1992. There's no signs of the Rams rekindling their program and Goldsmith might settle for smaller towns near Fort Collins such as Greeley, Windsor or Loveland.

Colorado University senior associate athletic director Bob Chichester said the university is not in a position to add sports right now, but his department has put together a 10-year plan that includes bringing back baseball and softball. The university has purchased 300 acres and allocated 100 of them to news sports facilities.

"Conceptually, the plan includes adding tennis courts, a track, recreation fields and baseball and softball facilities," Chichester said. "But we're not in a position to put a definite structure to this plan."

Chichester pointed to financial concerns and the bureaucratic environment in Boulder as the main hurdles, not necessarily Title IX.

"We don't have a softball program either," he said. "Even though we know we would have a successful team. Budget considerations are key. We have some disadvantages due to property costs and location. We can't drive to conference games, for instance. We have to fly."

Chichester said he would enjoy walking out of his office on a spring afternoon to watch a Big 12 baseball game.

"Our athletic director's son plays baseball at Northwestern," Chichester said. "He would've liked nothing more than to see his son playing baseball at CU.

"Several folks here would be open to being approached. We would never turn a deaf ear to discussions that might be beneficial to the university. So absolutely, we would be interested."

Still, the addition of Boulder for the 2003 Western League season would be a stretch, unless the team would play at a summer league facility such as Prentup Field or Scott Carpenter Park.

Goldsmith, the 45-year-old managing director a New York-based sports marketing company, said he will relocate his family to the Rocky Mountains to pursue options in Boulder and other towns.

Cheyenne, Wyo., about 30 miles north of Fort Collins, is also on Goldsmith's check list. Cheyenne had been in the running for a minor league team when the Rookie-level Arizona Summer League was looking to relocate. The league stayed put but Casper, Wyo., wound up getting the Colorado Rockies' Rookie-level Pioneer League affiliate.

Goldsmith is using the same feasibility study used two years ago by the AZL to pinpoint potential markets.

Grand Junction, Colo., and Santa Fe, N.M., also made Goldsmith's list of potential markets. Grand Junction is located near the Utah border but has a fine baseball tradition. The city has hosted the junior college world series for over 25 years and drew a record 126,455 fans to the event in 2001.

"Grand Junction is a town that's been in the mix for a number of years," Goldsmith said. "It has an excellent facility. (Grand Junction Junior College) has a year-round arrangement with the city but we would be playing a summer schedule."

Pueblo, Colo., which last had a minor league team in 1995 as part of the independent Texas-Louisiana League, is another possibility along the Front Range of the Rockies. It has an old stadium along I-25 that could host a team.