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Vancouver panel backs T'jacks move Northwest League team to leave Medford in 2000 By DAVID PRESZLER A Vancouver, Wash., city committee on pro baseball recommended Monday that the city accept the Southern Oregon Timberjacks' offer to move there next year. Committee chairman Doug Combs said the committee submitted its final report Monday. The Timberjacks have said they plan to play in Medford this season and open next year in a new stadium in Vancouver. Team owner Fred Herrmann could not be reached for comment Monday. A potential site for the Vancouver stadium and a plan to finance it are in place, Combs said. The stadium would be built around an existing field at the Washington State School of the Deaf near Pearson Airfield and Fort Vancouver. The stadium construction would be funded by revenue bonds that Combs is proposing that the state guarantee and sell. State officials have not indicated whether the state would take on that responsibility. The Vancouver City Council is not expected -- or required -- to take any action on the proposal until the stadium plans go through the land-use process, city economic development director Steve Burdick said. The baseball committee submitted the bulk of its report Dec. 28. It asked to prepare the additional report that it turned in Monday to respond to neighbors' concerns about traffic, parking, noise, light and alcohol sales at the proposed stadium site. Combs said the committee concluded that the stadium's impact could be lessened to address those worries. Combs hopes to have the stadium plan through the land-use process by this summer and said construction would need to begin by Sept. 1 in order for the stadium to be ready for the 2000 season opener. A partnership between Clark College, the school for the deaf and the Timberjacks is in place, Combs said. The college would assist in managing the stadium, doing scheduling, maintenance and the like. In exchange, the team would provide paid internships for college students in its front office. Medford is the smallest market in the eight-team Northwest League. Team and league officials have said the Timberjacks' proposed move is driven by the simple need to draw more fans. Southern Oregon averaged just under 2,000 fans per game last season. League and team studies have estimated that Vancouver would draw about 4,000 fans per night. The Portland Rockies are the league's top draw with more than 6,000 fans per night. The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, the last team to move from a small market (Bellingham, Wash.), draws about 3,600 fans a night. Northwest League President Bob Richmond expressed support for the move on Monday. The league will not consider formal approval until the stadium site and financing are complete, he said. The Timberjacks are planning a number of promotions for what may well be their last season in Medford, including a diamond ring giveaway, a computer giveaway and a trip to Reno giveaway. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA