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Eugene Church · 01-17-2009, 04:31 PM

The Islandian Times

Monday, November 12, 2001

IPA Owners Meeting Next Week in Forest City
An important meeting that could shape the world of pro baseball in the Islands is on tap next Monday at the Islandian Pro Alliance headquarters in Forest City. Commissioner John Banford called the meeting of all the current owners to discuss league expansion.

A group of potential owners led by Gates Billingham met last week with the commissioner and presented a plan of expanding the IPA from its present 24 teams to 64 teams. The expansion group said it had made all of the preparations to begin play next season.

The IPA league office has not weighed in on the subject, although there is a hard core of owners, who do not think this is a good time to jump into expansion and have said so privately. They fear the quality of play will be harmed by the influx of a mediocre talent pool. The Islandian Times polled all 24 teams and were told that 8 owners will fight tooth and nail to restrict expansion. There is a wide range of opinion for the rest of the owners ranging from strong support to lukewarm enthusiasm. The anti-expansionists want it done slowly over a ten-year period with only two teams added per year. Expansion would not begin for five years and would be phased in over a 20-year span.

01-17-2009, 04:31 PM	#660
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,869	The Islandian Times Monday, November 12, 2001 IPA Owners Meeting Next Week in Forest City An important meeting that could shape the world of pro baseball in the Islands is on tap next Monday at the Islandian Pro Alliance headquarters in Forest City. Commissioner John Banford called the meeting of all the current owners to discuss league expansion. A group of potential owners led by Gates Billingham met last week with the commissioner and presented a plan of expanding the IPA from its present 24 teams to 64 teams. The expansion group said it had made all of the preparations to begin play next season. The IPA league office has not weighed in on the subject, although there is a hard core of owners, who do not think this is a good time to jump into expansion and have said so privately. They fear the quality of play will be harmed by the influx of a mediocre talent pool. The Islandian Times polled all 24 teams and were told that 8 owners will fight tooth and nail to restrict expansion. There is a wide range of opinion for the rest of the owners ranging from strong support to lukewarm enthusiasm. The anti-expansionists want it done slowly over a ten-year period with only two teams added per year. Expansion would not begin for five years and would be phased in over a 20-year span.