Since the waning days of the 19th century, the city of Waco has been home to all manner of professional sports teams.

Some had staying power; many didn’t.

But because the idea of a pay-for-play team has worked before, it begs the question: What might Waco’s pro sports future be? Could the city ever support a team again?

Sure, thinks Wes Allison. The Heart of Texas Coliseum director believes the idea of a pro team in Waco is a viable notion, but only if it’s managed right. Essentially, Allison thinks that the owners would have to be willing to spend money long before they made any.

The Heart of Texas Coliseum hasn’t hosted a pro sports team since the Waco Marshals in 2004, but officials there would “never say never” to welcoming in another sporting venture.
Duane A. Laverty/Waco Tribune-Herald, file

“In minor league sports, you have to have quality management,” Allison said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s football, baseball, basketball, whatever. Being able to market and manage your product is very important.

“In essence, they need to be able to give that first season away. You build up your fan base that first year, and after that you start charging for it.”

Allison has seen firsthand the pitfalls of a minor league team’s budget being too dependent upon ticket revenue. In 2004, the HOT Coliseum briefly served as the home to the Waco Marshals, an indoor football team that played just six games before folding.

Four years prior to the Marshals, the Waco Wizards ice hockey team closed up shop at the HOT Coliseum after 3  1/2 financially-strapped seasons.

Despite those mishaps, Allison said the Coliseum is not philosophically opposed to opening its doors to another pro team.

“They’d have to have a business plan, but with what we’re doing at the Coliseum, I’d never say never,” Allison said. “Looking at it, there would be some more questions I might ask before we signed on the dotted line. But, sure, we’d consider it.”

Nevertheless, Allison said he hasn’t had any “serious inquiries” from prospective sports ownership groups in the last several years.

Steve Smith, who oversees sports and special events for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, hasn’t heard any rumblings to that end, either.

No plans in the works

“To my knowledge, there are no serious groups out there right now,” Smith said. “I know a couple of years ago, there were conversations among some groups interested in bringing minor league baseball to Waco, but I don’t know if the economy has slowed that discussion or what. But that talk has really been around for some time.”

And why not? Minor league baseball is the one pro sport that lingered in Waco for more than a few years. From 1890 all the way into the 1950s, Waco was home to several baseball clubs, including the Tigers, Navigators, Cubs and Pirates.

Other towns’ successes

There are minor league baseball affiliates in places like Midland and Corpus Christi, cities that are bigger yet comparable in size to Waco. Other towns like Grand Prairie, Laredo, San Angelo and Amarillo play host to independent league teams, while Kilgore, Victoria and Bryan-College Station have teams in the Texas Collegiate League, a summer wood bat league for college players.

“Waco supported a minor league team in the Texas League and the Big State League for years,” said Jay Black, curator for the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. “I don’t know why (it couldn’t work). It seems like there are a lot of other towns Waco’s size that have proven it can work.”

Finding a venue

Of course, you’d need a stadium first. Waco is blessed with one of the finest college parks in the country in Baylor Ballpark, but Baylor doesn’t sanction alcohol sales on its campus, and that would seemingly be a sticking point for a prospective minor league team.

Tom Hill, Baylor’s associate athletic director for facilities and events, said that the athletic department would listen to any groups who wanted to lease the school’s athletic facilities, but added that he “hasn’t been approached in quite some time.”

Scheduling can also be a conflict, Hill added, since Baylor’s own game and practice schedules take precedent.

For now, it appears as though Waco’s sports fans will have to whet their appetites through the array of college, junior college and high school sporting events on the buffet table. But if the city’s history tells us anything, it’s that someone will likely come along to give the pro game a go.

“I think if it were the right sport with the right management in place, it could work,” Smith said. “It would have to be family-oriented and affordable. But when you look at our location in Central Texas, it’s ideal. If you took on a regional effort to market it to the entire area, the possibilities are endless.”

bcherry@wacotrib.com

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