NORMAL - A group of community leaders has been studying the idea of bringing an independent professional baseball team to the Twin Cities and is ready to hear what residents think.

The Normal ad hoc committee, which includes City Council members Jeff Fritzen and Adam Nielsen, and Chestnut Health Systems Chief Operating Officer Alan Sender, will discuss the idea at the Normal City Council meeting Monday night.

Sender said the franchise would be privately owned, but no owner has been secured. The committee has talked to Heartland Community College, 1500 W. Raab Road, Normal, about a possible partnership to build a baseball stadium.

Heartland already plans to build a baseball field for its just-launched athletic program. Sender said the minor league team investor also might be interested in financially backing an upgrade of that proposed field into a baseball stadium.

While the idea of the Twin Cities being home to a minor league team surfaced a few years ago, Sender said the latest impetus came when Heartland announced its athletics program.

"If Heartland is going to do something, there would be great synergy to be gained," he said. "Now is the time when Heartland is getting ready to do baseball fields."

'Great interest' in Twin Cities

Fritzen said the group has met about four times and has been in contact with Bill Lee, commissioner of the Frontier League, a 12-team league with three franchises in Illinois and another in suburban St. Louis.

Lee said his league would have "great interest" in the Bloomington-Normal area.

"It fits nicely geographically, and the market is a growing market," he said.

Lee confirmed that he has had discussions with Bloomington-Normal representatives, but added that those talks were "nothing beyond the point of everybody saying this would be a great place and a great idea."

The process could take from two to four years, Lee said. With no facility or financial backing in place, it could take longer.

"It's not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination," Lee said.

An independent franchise appears to be the only avenue for securing professional baseball in the Twin City market. Midwest League President George Spelius said the Peoria Chiefs oragnization, a Class A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, has territorial rights that would preclude a Major League farm team from taking root in Bloomington-Normal.

Finding an investor

Securing a primary investor could be the largest hurdle to clear, but Fritzen said there could be current owners in the Frontier League who are interested in a second team as well as some who are interested in owning their first team.

Sender said an investor would need a minimum of $2 million. Buying into the league could cost about $950,000 now, he said. Another $7 million to $10 million would be needed to build a stadium.

"We met with a consultant and he said we would have no problem finding an investor," Sender said. "We have 135,000 people here. Other communities (with minor league teams) are much smaller than we are."

Both Fritzen and Sender see the team as providing a summertime entertainment opportunity, but Sender said the stadium would bring another multipurpose arena to the community that could attract other events such as the Illinois High School Association baseball tournament.

This would not be the first time Bloomington-Normal has been home to a minor league baseball team.

The Bloomington Bloomers played for most of the time from 1901 to 1939 in Bloomington as part of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, also known as the Three-I League, said McLean County Museum of History archivist Bill Kemp.

Michele Steinbacher contributed to this story.