It seems the only baseball to be played in Columbia this summer will be Mizzou and a bunch of little leaguers. There won’t be any minor league pitches thrown. Mid-Missouri Mavericks owners Brad and Gary Wendt announced their team has cancelled the 2007 season.
The team has been unable to agree with the city of Columbia on a plan to build a $10 million stadium. The site for the stadium is supposed to be on city-owned land in east Columbia off Broadway and east of Rustic Road, but nothing is set in stone.
Finding a permanent home for the Mavericks has been awfully tough for the Wendt brothers. This will be the second year since the team took the field in 2003 that play will be called off amid negotiations for a home site.
Publicly, there hasn’t been any talk of the team moving outside of Columbia.
“We’re 100 percent committed to keeping the team in Columbia,” Brad Wendt said.
The Columbia City Council approved a plan for the stadium, which would take up 16 acres donated by the American Legion back in June. But Legion members have become concerned about the level of control the group would have over the park once the stadium was built.
