Baseball team in Mobile might be sold

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - The president of the Southern League says the minor league baseball team in Mobile is on the market.

The league’s president Lori Webb said there could be a potential sale of the BayBears, according to Al.com . The league’s vetting of a potential buyer could take about two months. The approval process comes shortly after it was reported that the BayBears could relocate to Madison.

Webb said it would be far down the road if such development is true. The vetting process of a potential buyer of BayBears could take about two months.

“What I can tell you is the Mobile franchise has been on the market for a while and we do have some potential buyers,” Webb said. “At this time, we have not approved a sale yet. We’re just starting the process and, really, that’s all I can tell you at this time. We have a potential sale. It’s up to the league at this point to do our due diligence and see if we want to approve the potential buyers. It’s a process that could take a couple of months. That’s what we’re working on now.”

The sale approval process would then require the OK of the league’s board of directors - which is made up of one representative from each of the league’s 10 teams.

Then, Minor League Baseball would sign off on the sale of a team then Major League Baseball.

WHNT-TV report the BayBears are possibly headed to Madison to anchor the under-construction Town Madison retail district off I-565 west of Huntsville.

Madison Mayor Paul Finley said the interest is high in Town Madison.

“You can imagine the interest that’s happening over there,” Finley said. “There’s all different types of economic development opportunities coming our way. At some point, we certainly look forward to having more specifics.”

Madison’s population is about 48,000, which is the state’s 10th largest city.

“Our league, we respect all of our members and in the end, when we do decide to approve a sale or a relocation or whatever it may be, we always do it in the best interest of the Southern League,” Webb said. “And that’s what we will do here. We will take the time we need to go through the process in an intelligent manner. When we’re ready to make a decision, it will go to the full board and we will go from there.”