DREAM OF BASEBALL FIELD MINOR LEAGUE GROUP NEEDS TO FIND LAND TO BUILD ON, SO TEAM WILL COME.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A group working to bring a minor league baseball team here is stumped by the search for suitable land to build a stadium, but remained optimistic it will be ready to launch the team next year.

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Golden League Baseball wants to have a local team by May 2007, but before the boys of summer hit the diamond, they need a field - a tall order in this valley of rolling, oak-covered canyons with little flat land.

Craig Duswalt, general manager of the yet-unnamed baseball team, has been pursuing leads for months. He hinted at several possibilities - properties in Newhall, Hasley Canyon and in unincorporated county land along Interstate 5 - but nothing he could discuss in detail.

``I feel it's easier for me to get the $15 million to build the stadium than it is to get 15 acres of land,'' he said Friday. ``I've checked hundreds of possibilities, but we're still at square one. Everyone is still excited and interested, but nothing has happened yet as far as the land.''

Dave Kaval, chief executive officer and co-founder of the independent league, said the coming months are crucial.

``We remain optimistic that we can work within the next three to four months to make an announcement regarding a new stadium,'' he said. ``Right now, we are very focused on identifying a proper site, and soliciting more support locally.''

An eight-team league completed its inaugural season last year. This year, six teams including the Surf Dawgs of San Diego, the Fullerton Flyers and the Yuma (Ariz.) Scorpions will be competing. Kaval said there are plans for expansion teams throughout California, Arizona and Nevada in the next two years.

Past proposals of basing the team at College of the Canyons or the William S. Hart Pony Baseball and Softball Complex struck out because of beer sales restrictions. With admission at $5 a head, concessions are expected to make up half the game's revenue.

Also, a plan to redevelop the Saugus Speedway into a field proved cost prohibitive - the current home of the Saugus Swap Meet is prime real estate along the busy Soledad Canyon Road.

This leaves building a stadium from the ground up the only answer.

``If we don't have land in the next three months, then we're not going to get a team, then it'll have to be May 2008,'' Duswalt said. ``We don't know what's going to happen then.

``We're looking for an angel out there with 20 acres of land.''

Still, Duswalt believes the Santa Clarita Valley, with a number of families and starved for entertainment options, is an ideal venue.

``It's such a perfect market for minor league baseball,'' Duswalt said. ``It's perfect for a team.''

Kaval agreed.

``You want to marry a good community that loves baseball and the great family entertainment that comes with that with a new facility,'' Kaval said. ``We're confident we can get there.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com