Three weeks ago at Lindquist Field, Ogden Raptors team president Dave Baggott announced to the crowd of baseball fans the presence of a group exploring the possibility of launching an expansion Pioneer League team in Providence.

That plan seems to be advancing, as one of two major bits of ownership and franchise news in the league Thursday.

Baggott is part of an ownership group that signed a letter of intent to put a new PBL team in the Cache County town, KSL.com reports. A $10-12 million stadium, funded mostly through private money, would anchor the expansion team and provide closer regional competition for the Raptors.

The group is positive about the prospects in Cache County, given its growth — for example, the county recently went from three high schools to five.

Though Providence only holds a population of about 8,000 people, it’s a small municipality tucked between Highway 89 and the mountains that’s part of the growing population in the 15-mile stretch from Smithfield to Hyrum. The county is approaching a population of 140,000.

Baggott also told KSL.com there are explorations into adding another PBL team in Idaho, mentioning Pocatello by name. Pocatello has held Pioneer League teams sporadically dating back to 1939, and has twice had teams it hosted move to Ogden. The semi-pro Gate City Grays currently play in Pocatello.

Baggott has previously told the Standard-Examiner that the league embraces expansion and is open to ways to save costs and cut down travel. Since Ogden is somewhat on an island relative to the rest of the league roster, the idea of teams in Cache County and Pocatello have been floated for a time.

That wasn’t the only franchise news in the PBL on Thursday. Future Legends, the ownership group of the Northern Colorado Owlz, announced it has purchased the Grand Junction Rockies and will take control of the franchise at the end of this season. The Rockies have been owned by the MLB club Colorado Rockies, which no longer seems like a sensible model after the PBL lost major league affiliation.

A release from Future Legends said plans are to keep the team in Grand Junction and at Suplizio Field.

It’s unclear at this time how dual ownership (both for Baggott, who is part of the Raptors ownership group, and for Future Legends) within the league would affect how people within those organizations can be involved in operations such as roster management.

The Pioneer League lost its longtime status as an affiliated minor league with an MLB player development contract in 2020 as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and others pushed to cut down the number of teams in Minor League Baseball and assumed full control of the minor league system.

Emerging from the pandemic, the PBL reopened for business in 2021 as an independent professional league, with a loose partnership with MLB. It played in 2021 as an eight-team league with which most fans are accustomed, though that year began a shift in the league’s roster.

The Orem Owlz sat out the 2021 season to move to Windsor, Colorado. The PBL welcomed the Boise Hawks, a franchise kicked out of the affiliated Northwest League in the 2020 contraction of affiliated minor leagues.

The Northern Colorado Owlz, still completing their new baseball stadium, rejoined the action this season along with the expansion Glacier Range Riders. Glacier, located in Kalispell, Montana, built a new stadium funded entirely with private money. Flathead Field holds up to 2,500 fans.

The Raptors are currently on track to win the PBL attendance title for the 25th consecutive season. Prior to games scheduled for Friday, Aug. 19, Ogden is averaging 3,747 fans per night — similar to, or better than in some years, averages from when the team was affiliated.

The median nightly attendance average league-wide is about 1,800.

Boise (3,354) joins Ogden as the only other team north of 3,000 fans per night. Idaho Falls (2,096) and Billings (2,052) are above 2,000 per night.

Rounding out the list are Rocky Mountain/Colorado Springs (1,953), Missoula (1,702), Grand Junction (1,567), Glacier/Kalispell (1,566) and Great Falls (1,319).

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