High Wheelers baseball to move after winning a championship in first season. Here’s where
The Yolo High Wheelers, after winning a league title in their first season, are moving out of Davis.
The reigning Pioneer League Champions announced they would be relocating roughly an hour north to Marysville to play their baseball games at Bryant Field after struggling to get a foothold on the campus of UC Davis in their first season of existence. They will also change their name to the Yuba-Sutter High Wheelers.
According to team officials, the city of Marysville will contribute $250,000 toward renovations of the 4,000-seat stadium that first opened in 1937 before it was renovated in 2000. The team says it expects “at least double” that amount contributed from private sources.
The team last season played its home games at Dobbins Field, which the team shared with the UC Davis baseball team. The High Wheelers won a championship there in September after a 58-44 record. But the team said it “struggled to establish a sustainable presence in Davis due to several logistical challenges.”
Planned upgrades for the 87-year-old Bryant Field include playing field improvements, a “professional” clubhouse, padded walls and a scoreboard. The agreement is a three-year lease that includes community benefits such as camps, clinics for junior players, support for local little league teams and free tickets for nonprofit organizations.
The team says it is “committed to creating an affordable, family-friendly atmosphere in Marysville, offering an alternative to the expensive entertainment options available in nearby metropolitan areas.”
The High Wheelers are owned by the same group that owns the Oakland Ballers of the PBL and are aiming to generate similar community interest. The Ballers benefited from being a local baseball alternative to the A’s amid their exit from Oakland that drew ire of fans. The A’s next spring will play in West Sacramento, roughly 25 minutes from the High Wheelers former home in Davis.
The Ballers drew 92,046 fans over its 48-game home schedule, averaging 1,918 per game.
“In Oakland, we developed a successful model of radical community participation,” said Bryan Carmel, a co-founder of both teams in a statement. “We are confident we can continue this in Marysville, while also staying nimble enough to consistently improve the player and fan experience. We can’t wait to see how our new Yuba-Sutter fans truly make the team their own.”
The High Wheelers became the second PBL team on the West Coast after the Ballers. The PBL is an independent Major League Baseball partner league and has seen players sign with big league organizations. The PBL has 12 teams in California, Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Utah. Teams play a 96-game season from May to September.
