The return of affiliated baseball to Wichita is quickly becoming less of an idea and more of a reality.
The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a ballpark development and facility-use management agreement that essentially paves the way for a 7,000-seat multi-purpose stadium to go up on the site of soon-to-be-razed Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.
Including party and group areas that don’t include regular seats, between 10,000 and 11,000 is expected to be the capacity for the facility.
During the City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon, assistant city manager Scot Rigby said that Pacific Coast League officials on Monday gave their conditional approval of the relocation application from the ownership of the New Orleans Baby Cakes to move the Triple-A baseball franchise to Wichita.
Final approval, Rigby said, is contingent on ballpark design specifications meeting the standards of the PCL and Minor League Baseball.
(Read more: Wichita Business Journal)