The City of Santa Maria Recreation & Parks Commission will hear from an investment group proposing to bring a nonaffiliated minor league baseball team to Elks Field.

According to Alex Posada, director of Recreation & Parks, the city has received interest from an investment group and is looking forward to hearing their proposal.

The Recreation & Parks Commission will hold a public hearing at its 4 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, June 11 in City Hall to hear a presentation from the proponents as to their desire to bring a minor league baseball team to Santa Maria. Individuals and groups interested in hearing more details about the proposal or wish to give input are encouraged to attend the meeting.

The proposal is to bring a minor league professional team to Santa Maria, and not a collegiate team. It has been about five years since the collegiate level Santa Maria Indians team left the city; they have since established themselves in the Templeton area.

The Santa Maria Indians operated for decades at Elks Field. Many of the local youths who advanced to Major League Baseball clubs can trace their baseball roots to games at Elks Field. In addition to the Santa Maria Indians, several local youth and adult baseball programs have used Elks Field for games and training over the years.

“There are many details in this proposal that will have to be worked on before this project can be fully considered; the first step is for the Recreation & Parks Commission to vet the item at their meeting,” Posada said. “The City of Santa Maria has a goal to make the downtown area an attraction for local residents and visitors alike. The construction of the new theater project, new library, youth center and expanded businesses at the Santa Maria Town Center are all steps toward achieving this goal.”

Elks Field is located in Simas Park, directly behind the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center.

— James Davis is a parks manager for the City of Santa Maria.