Solano Steelheads
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Solano Steelheads 1999–2003 Sacramento, California |
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| Minor league affiliations | |
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| League | Western Baseball League |
| Team data | |
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Previous names
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Sacramento Steelheads (1999) |
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Previous parks
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The Solano Steelheads were a minor league baseball team operating out of Vacaville, California. They played in the independent Western Baseball League, and were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball team.
The Steelheads were founded in 1999 as the Sacramento Steelheads by businessman Bruce Portner. They played their inaugural season at Sacramento City College. Portner sought to attract attention to the new franchise by hiring notorious MLB star Pete Rose as "the hitting instructor" of the team.
The Steelheads were relatively successful in the WBL standings in 1999. Sacramento's sports fans largely chose to ignore the home venue, which was located on the grounds of Sacramento City College, and hence, prevented from serving alcohol. Many area baseball fans were content to wait for the relocation of the Pacific Coast League Vancouver Canadians to Raley Field.
Rather than contend directly with AAA-level baseball, Portner moved his team west to Vacaville, where he built Travis Credit Union Park on the grounds of the historic Nut Tree. Marketing efforts portrayed the team as a Rockwellian slice of Americana, and Solano County fans responded positively to a professional team of their own. The 2000 and 2001 seasons were successful, in terms of both attendance and profit. 2001 saw a renovation of Travis Credit Union Park that included replacing benches with bucket seating. The ballpark was further improved by the start of the 2002 season with a new permanent concession facility and picnic area.
Due to the City of Vacaville's failure to honor the promised removal of a significant financial condition imposed on Portner when he built the stadium with his own money, Portner was forced to sell the stadium at a fire sale price and ultimately had to place the team in bankruptcy to reorganize its debts.
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