NORMAL - Heartland Community College would welcome a minor league baseball stadium on its campus as long as it could accommodate the college's other sports.

College President Jon Astroth said Heartland needs space for its soccer, baseball and softball teams and a practice soccer field for its newly launched athletic programs.

"We have $3.6 million for the (sports) complex, part of which is the baseball field," Astorth said. "A stadium needs close to 20 acres. We have that but we still need a place for those teams."

A committee of community leaders has been studying for the last few months the idea of bringing an independent minor league baseball team to the Twin Cities. They discussed the idea Monday night at the Normal City Council.

Committee member Alan Sender said Heartland's plan to offer sports pushed the idea to the forefront.

"Heartland moved forward with its plan to offer sports and rather than that being the end of the story, it occurred to us the Heartland plan could mesh with allowing us to see baseball in the community," he said.

"The vision today is a baseball stadium at Heartland funded by a private investor," Sender said.

Under the plan, Heartland would make the land available for a fee and devote some of its money for fields to the stadium.

"Heartland gets an all-purpose field it could use in fall and spring, and in summer we would have a baseball team," he said.

The team also would be privately owned.

Sender said the college could use the complex for educational opportunities for those pursing education in food service or stadium operation, for example. The complex also might be appealing for other sporting events, such as through the Illinois High School Association.

Astroth said the college already has been in touch with the Chicago White Sox groundskeeper about helping build the Heartland field. While he isn't available, Astroth said his understudy is.

"It could be a Class AA-quality field," he said.

Astroth said the college hoped to have the field ready by spring 2009. That means finding someone interested in owning a minor league team and upgrading Heartland's field to a stadium would have to come quickly.

Astroth said that if the field will serve only Heartland's program, the college will use sod. If it serves a minor league team, it would have artificial turf.

Sender said the group has been assured there are people who would be interested in owning a Twin City minor league team.

"It's not only baseball, it's entertainment," Sender said.

While Sender said the group doesn't want anything from the town now, if the idea become reality, the town might be asked to provide turn lanes or stoplights near the facility.

"This is not a town of Normal project and it's not envisioned to be a Heartland project," he said. "It depends entirely on a private investor."