For two cities that stare at each other across the strait, Victoria and Port Angeles haven鈥檛 had much of a sports rivalry. That is about to change, with Port Angeles 鈥� the birthplace of John Elway and final resting place of hard-edged writer Raymond Carver 鈥� set to enter the West Coast League of baseball in 2017.
鈥淭he only better rivalry for us would be Nanaimo,鈥� said Victoria HarbourCats GM Jim Swanson.
Swanson is on the WCL expansion committee and has been in Port Angeles three times over the past months for negotiations, which are close to completion.
鈥淭here are so many natural tie-ins for us in Victoria, from transport and the Coho ferry, to the cross-border rivalry angle,鈥� said Swanson.
鈥淲hen I was in Port Angeles, I found a very willing community open to the WCL. It speaks to the stability of our league with communities wanting in.鈥�
The principal of the proposed and yet unnamed Port Angeles team, which would play at Civic Field, is Matt Acker, who also owns the WCL鈥檚 Kitsap BlueJackets.
Since most WCL teams arrive in Victoria via the Coho ferry, it would make Port Angeles a logical strategic location for a league franchise and game stops 鈥� much in the same way the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook has been for the Western Hockey League for teams traveling from Spokane and Tri-City to Calgary and Lethbridge.
A Port Angeles franchise would bring to 12 the number of teams in the WCL.
Swanson envisions a WCL of up to 16 teams over the next couple of years.
The WCL extends the baseball season through the summer for U.S. collegiate NCAA players. A total of 59 WCL players or alumni were selected in the 2015 MLB draft.
The HarbourCats are entering their fourth season in the WCL and led the league in average attendance each of the past two seasons (1,910 in 2015 and 1,576 in 2014).
The HarbourCats open the 2016 WCL season June 3 in Walla Walla, Washington. Victoria opens the home portion of the campaign June 7 against the Wenatchee AppleSox at Royal Athletic Park.
