HILLSBORO, OR (KPTV) -
The Portland metro area is on track to get another Minor League Baseball team. The Hillsboro City Council just unanimously approved a conditional license agreement to bring the Yakima Bears, a Single A Short Season team, to town.
Under the agreement, the team will stay in Hillsboro for at least 20 years with the option to extend the contract. The team will pay $150,000 per year to lease a new stadium at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex. The lease on the stadium will increase by 3 percent each year throughout the length of the agreement, and the city will also collect parking fees, as well as a $1 per ticket surcharge.
The stadium could cost as much as $15.2 million, which will be paid for by full faith and credit bonds issued by the city of Hillsboro.
The agreement needs to be approved by several of baseball's governing bodies, but the city anticipates a first pitch to be thrown out by as early as next spring.
Copyright 2012 KPTV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
