The Tucson Padres were a minor league baseball team representing

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. The team moved to Tucson from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

for the 2011 season. In April 2014, the team moved to

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

and changed their name to the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

Franchise history

Following the 2010 season, the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

were put up for sale after PGE Park (now Providence Park) was remodeled into a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

-only configuration for the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

's 2011 expansion

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

. In 2010, the Beavers were sold to

Jeff Moorad Jeffrey S. Moorad is an American businessman and investor. He began his career as a sports agent, before serving as General Partner and CEO of MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks, and Vice-Chairman and CEO of MLB's San Diego Padres. Player representati ...

, principal owner of the

The Move to Tucson

On October 19, 2010, it was announced that a site in

Escondido, California Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census. Et ...

had been selected for the new home of the Portland Beavers. The new ballpark was scheduled to open in April 2013. Until the move to Escondido could be completed the Padres would play their home games at

Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium Kino Sports Complex is a multiple-use sports complex in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox formerly utilized the complex's main ballpark, Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, for Cactus League games each March and had their ...

in Tucson, Arizona. In May 2011, citing reasons of proposed redevelopment revenue confiscation by the State, the ballpark plans in Escondido were placed on indefinite hold.

Franchise sale

Following the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

's decision to uphold the 2011 decision by the State to abolish redevelopment agencies it was decided by the Mayor of Escondido, Sam Abed, that the city would not be able to build the proposed stadium. In reaction Jeff Moorad announced he would sell the team if a location within the San Diego area could not be found. No sites materialized and in December 2011, Moorad decided to place the Tucson Padres up for sale. , Moorad received offers from buyers in three cities outside California. No offers surfaced to keep the team in Tucson. As a result, the Padres played in Tucson for the 2012 season and, in July 2012, announced that they would remain in Tucson for the 2013 season as well.

Relocation to El Paso

On July 30, 2012, the Pacific Coast League gave preliminary approval to MountainStar Sports Group, an ownership group based out of

, for the purchase of the Tucson Padres. The final sale of the Padres to MountainStar Sports was approved on September 26, 2012. On October 22, 2013 in front of a capacity crowd inside the historic Plaza Theater in Downtown El Paso, the MountainStar Sports Group announced that the team would officially be renamed as The

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tucson Padres official website
Professional baseball teams in Arizona San Diego Padres minor league affiliates Sports in Tucson, Arizona Baseball teams established in 2010 Baseball teams disestablished in 2013 Defunct Pacific Coast League teams 2011 establishments in Arizona 2013 disestablishments in Arizona