plans for construction of new baseball stadium in pueblo, colorado advancing

A Minor League Baseball team based in Utah could soon be calling Pueblo, Colorado its new home if plans to build a new stadium for the team can be finalized.

The Orem Owlz, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, have been playing in Orem for more than a decade, but have not been able to secure a permanent venue.

In response, team owner Jeff Katofsky has been looking for other locations to move the team to, finally tentatively settling on Pueblo for what could prove to be the construction of a $25 million baseball stadium.

Members of the Pueblo County Board of Commissioners have now entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Katofsky that will see the county trying to work through the process of securing a site for the new facility and arranging for its financing.

In return, the Orem Owlz, soon to be named the Pueblo Owlz, will officially relocate to Pueblo, hopefully playing their first game in the spring of 2020.

Officials in Pueblo have long wanted to build such a stadium, and say it could be funded through tax increment financing.

Most of the talk has centered on a stadium going up near the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk, just off of N. Elizabeth Street.

But the stadium project, as envisioned by Katofsky, would also see the construction of at least three nearby hotels in the immediate vicinity.

Details of exactly where the new stadium will be built and when are currently being worked out by the Pueblo County Department of Economic Development.

Pueblo County has additionally contracted with the Arvada-based LT Environmental Inc., an engineering and consulting firm, to conduct environmental studies of the possible sites where the stadium may be built.

By Garry Boulard

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