Colorado Springs Sky Sox possible relocation
Vaughn Bassett Ranger Review Editor

The Colorado Springs Sky Sox baseball team have been a piece of the public’s eye for the past 18 years. The organization sells thousands of tickets nearly every week.

When the team was founded in 1902, it was called the Sacramento Solons of California. After the 1960 season, the Solons relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii where they played as the Hawaii Islanders until the end of the 1987 season.

It was then, in 1988, that the team moved to Spurgeon Stadium at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs. The team took on the Sky Sox name to honor the old Colorado Springs Sky Sox team that played at Memorial Park from 1950-1958. A year later the new Sky Sox moved to a 3.8 million dollar ballpark built on the corner of Powers Boulevard and Tutt Avenue in eastern Colorado Springs. This field is now called Security Service Field.

After the Sky Sox went through a total overhaul of team colors, uniforms and the logo, the team continued to play in Colorado Springs. In April of 2016 rumors surfaced that David Elmore, the owner of the Sky Sox, wished to move the team to San Antonio, Texas so they could play in a new 75 million dollar stadium to be built in downtown San Antonio. The morning of April 9th Elmore and Mayor of San Antonio, Ivy Taylor, announced that the Sky Sox would indeed move to San Antonio at the beginning of the 2019 season.

The news of the Sky Sox leaving the Pikes Peak region is faced with mixed reactions. Jackson Rorex, 10, a baseball player at Lewis-Palmer High School, is one person who is distressed about the announcement.

“I’m really disappointed that the team is gonna go. I spent a huge part of my childhood in that stadium and I remember tons of ‘$2 Tuesdays’ and ‘Fireworks Fridays’ and knowing that one day that it’s all gonna come to an end is really sad,” Rorex said.

Many people believe that the team is moving due to their declining level of play. Changing partnership from the Colorado Rockies to the Milwaukee Brewers could be to blame for the drop in player skill.

“From my 11 years of being a fan, I have always thought that, for being Triple-A team, the Sky Sox are a good team even though they have had really bad seasons in the past,” Rorex stated.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are citizens of El Paso County that don’t care about the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Whether people have bad experiences or they have never been to a game because lack of interest, there is a strong demographic that does not care for the Sky Sox.

“Honestly, my life will see little change because of the team moving, I’ve never been to the game and I don’t have any plans to see on in the near future. Honestly, I feel like I have the same opinion as the rest of the people here which is probably why they are moving in the first place,” Josh Lewis, 10, said.

While there have been Sky Sox games that have drawn in thousands of fans, there have also been games that have drawn in minimal crowds. If the organization to moves to San Antonio there may be higher attendance to games which will help the team. More fans means more money for the Elmore Sports Group.

Despite different views on the matter of the team moving, the change will have an impact on the Colorado Springs area. The future of a Colorado Springs minor league team is an issue to be discussed.