The Victoria HarbourCats will not be able to play any of their playoff games this season on home ground, due to plans for a CFL game at Royal Athletic Park at the end of August.
The West Coast League baseball team confirmed Tuesday they have been told they will not be able to use Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park after their final regular season game Aug. 7, as crews require three weeks to erect temporary stands and establish grass on the baseball diamond’s red-shale infield for the Aug. 31 football game.
John Wilson, co-owner of the HarbourCats, said it’s a major blow to the team and its fans. And while he is upset, he noted that since the HarbourCats’ season ends Aug. 7, it’s likely no one thought there would be a conflict with a CFL game planned for the end of that month.
“On the surface, there did not seem to be any conflict, but of course what wasn’t taken into account is the time that would be needed to transition the park from Wilson’s Group Stadium for baseball to Royal Athletic Park for a CFL game.”
The CFL game featuring the B.C. Lions and Ottawa Redblacks was announced in November.
Wilson called it a “fantastic event” for Victoria.
The loss of home playoff games is a financial blow to the team — estimated losses were not disclosed — which will have the expenses of having to play all playoff games on the road.
But Wilson said the bigger blow is likely to community goodwill.
“More importantly, it’s about how it affects the people of Victoria, our sponsors, our fans, our vendors, generally our place within the community,” he said.
“We feel we are a staple now — we’ve been here 11 years — and we have aspirations of continuing on for years to come. What’s most upsetting is feeling that maybe we were a second or third thought in this process.”
Mayor Marianne Alto said the HarbourCats were always top of mind, but the city had to compromise.
“I’m a massive sports fan and a huge HarbourCats supporter, but we wanted to make sure that in an effort to showcase Royal Athletic Park, to show what its potential might be in the long-term, that we did as much as we could to accommodate both the games,” said Alto, who called the HarbourCats a “prized tenant.”
“This is a one-time effort to accommodate two really important opportunities to showcase the city.
Alto said they have not yet had a conversation about potential compensation for the HarbourCats. “I expect that will be determined later, depending upon whether or not they make the playoffs,” she said.
In the meantime, the team is waiting to hear what the West Coast League will do.
Wilson said they have been open with the league about the situation and there is a possibility they could face a fine.
“We’re adjusting on the go the best we can — unfortunately we live in a city where there isn’t a suitable second location for us to play these games,” he said.
Wilson said it’s up to the league to decide where playoff games will be played, but he hopes they can play home playoff games at Nanaimo’s Serauxmen Stadium, home of the Nanaimo NightOwls.
“Being that our ownership group owns the Nanaimo team as well, that would be making the best of a bad situation,” he said.
Rob Neyer, commissioner of the West Coast League, said it’s too early for the league to say where playoff games would be played.
Neyer said it’s likely the league will have to come up with a solution, given the HarbourCats have made the playoffs six of the last seven years.
“We are at the very beginning of our internal conversation about what that would look like, an d obviously we will work closely with the HarbourCats on a solution,” he said.
A decision will likely be made within a couple of weeks so teams all have some certainty, said Neyer, adding it’s unlikely the HarbourCats would face a financial penalty from the league.
“I don’t want to presuppose anything, but I don’t know why the league would want to even consider fining a team for something that they have no control over,” he said, noting many teams have nights they can’t play at their home stadiums because the city or some other organization controls the field.
“We have a long history and familiarity with situations like this.”
He said this one is more inconvenient as it comes just as the season is about to start.
“But we’ve got a lot of practice working with teams and resolving these sorts of things.”
In a statement released late Tuesday, the HarbourCats emphasized there will be no impact on regular season games and the team is gearing up for its home opener June 7.
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