Elliott Kerr confirmed earlier today that he received permission from the IBL’s board of governors to start a franchise in 2009.
All that stands in the way of baseball coming to this city is approval from Mississauga City Council when it convenes later this month.
Kerr, the founder of the Mississauga-based Landmark Sport Group, also brought the annual Mississauga Marathon to the city and is a co-owner of the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm.
“Once we have all the pieces in place, we can move forward,” said Kerr.
“I can’t wait to develop a rivalry with Toronto, London, Brantford...to me it’s obvious Mississauga should have a home team, and now we’re as close as we’ve ever been.”
While Kerr has already selected Doug Kelcher to be the general manager and Scott Rogers the assistant GM, the big question remaining is location.
Where will the new Mississauga franchise play?
“I’ll defer that 100 per cent to the City to find the best location,” said Kerr before cautioning, “We still need City Council approval.
“Once we get approval, we will move quickly.”
Kerr added his search for talent won’t necessarily extend far afield.
“I see the merits of having as many homegrown players as we can,” said Kerr. “Mississauga is a bit of a hotbed for baseball talent. A lot of Mississauga-born kids (who turned professional) have been developed in front of us. There’s a lot of players we can choose from.”
Kerr added he has little interest in having a 10-, or for that matter, a five-year plan.
“We don’t want to start slow. We want to win a championship in year one. Go after it right away. I’m pretty darned excited.”
The past few seasons the nine-team IBL has included a number of talented players.
This year’s champion Brantford Red Sox, who defeated the London Majors 8-2 in the seventh game of a best-of-seven championship series last Friday, was managed by Mississauga’s Adam Clarke.
It was Brantford’s second IBL championship in three years.
Among the players Clarke managed were Mississaugans John Ogiltree, Jason Gotwalt and Corey Pappel.
dwiner@mississauga.net
