Baseball New Zealand is "searching for a venue in Auckland where a stadium can be built to house a professional team," according to David Long of STUFF. The sport is "set to take a significant step forward" in the country, with Baseball Australia inviting its "colleagues on this side of the Tasman to apply to be one of the two expansion teams" in its league next season. While baseball is "growing in popularity in New Zealand," the lack of a professional team in the country is "holding it back." But that "could be about to change." At the start, the team will not be a "big budget operation" playing in the Australian league like National Rugby League side New Zealand Warriors, A-League side Wellington Phoenix or National Basketball League club NZ Breakers, but Baseball NZ CEO Ryan Flynn "sees the invitation as a game-changer." He said, "You can wait forever for these things, or you can jump straight in. This is a world-class league and people have known all along we've wanted to be in it." Where to build a small stadium in Auckland is "something that needs to be worked out." Flynn said, "We've received NZ$15,000 ($10,300) recently from Sport New Zealand to organize a business case with a company called GLG and they're working on it with a steering group that includes Auckland Council, my directors like Brett O'Riley, who was with Ateed." Flynn would like the team's facility to be a multi-field venue, "with one diamond being the main stadium." However, "to start with," Baseball NZ would "look for a more modest facility." Flynn: "Out of the gate we'd look for one minor league diamond that would seat 2,000 to 3,000" (STUFF, 11/15).
