Serauxmen stadium is set to host a Nanaimo-based West Coast League team beginning in 2021, partnering with the Victoria HarbourCats. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

batter up

Nanaimo lands West Coast League baseball team for 2021 season

Mar 5, 2020 | 2:36 PM

NANAIMO — Some of baseball’s top prospects will hone their skills at Serauxmen Stadium in Nanaimo.

A West Coast League franchise to begin play in late June, 2021 was made official during a news conference in Nanaimo Thursday afternoon by Victoria HarbourCats general manager and co-owner Jim Swanson.

He said while the HarbourCats will own the Nanaimo team, he said the two baseball operations will run independently from one another.

“Nanaimo is one of the great baseball cities anywhere in North America that doesn’t have this level of baseball currently and we’re excited to bring it there,” Swanson said.

The WCL is a 54-game wooden bat summer collegiate league, allowing players enrolled in North American post-secondary baseball programs to continue their development in the off-season.

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Swanson said 92 Major League Baseball draft picks played in the 12-team WCL last season.

“You’re seeing the top prospects from UCLA, University of Washington and University of Hawaii. You name a top school that’s playing baseball, they have players in this league.”

There will be a name-the-team contest for the Nanaimo franchise.

Swanson said lights at Serauxmen Stadium for evening games made it possible for Nanaimo to become the WCL’s newest franchise.

More seating at the stadium on Third St. is planned to meet anticipated demand.

“Our goal is to get the capacity up from the current 850 to 900 to 1,500. That includes opening areas down the lines that are currently boarded in. There’s an opportunity for expansion and a fresh look for the park.”

Swanson said a WCL team in Nanaimo will help grow the game locally and be a great fit for the league’s other organizations.

“The league is excited about it as well. It gives an opportunity travel-wise for teams to come over to the island on the ferry and play a couple three-game series in Nanaimo and Victoria.”

The WCL is a free agent league in which players are not paid.

The league has teams in B.C., Washington State and Oregon.

WCL alumni include Canadian MLB pitchers James Paxton (New York Yankees) and Nick Pivetta (Philadelphia Phillies).

Serauxmen Stadium is also home to the Mid Island Pirates Premier Baseball League team and the VIU Mariners baseball team.

More information on the Nanaimo WCL franchise is available at Nanaimobaseball.com

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes