GBL to place franchise in Reno

The Golden Baseball League, in partnership with the University of Nevada and the city of Reno, will make it official today with an announcement that it will bring a franchise in Reno.

The independent league is scheduled to play at Peccole Park, beginning with the 2006 season. The team will be known as the Reno Silver Sox, which was the name of the Class A club that once played in Reno. It's expected as part of the agreement that lights will be placed at Peccole Park.

The official announcement will take place at 11 a.m. today at the University of Nevada's Legacy Hall. Those attending the ceremony will be GBL president and founder Amit Patel, University of Nevada president John Lilley, Nevada athletic director Cary Groth and Reno vice mayor Dwight Dortch. The team's logo, general manager and initial corporate partners will also be announced at the ceremony.

The GBL, presented by Safeway Inc., operates under a model in which the league owns all the teams. GBL teams are the Chico (Calif.) Outlaws, the Silver Sox, the Fullteron (Calif.) Flyers, the Long Beach (Calif.) Armada, the San Diego Surf Dawgs, the Mesa (Ariz.) Miners, the Surprise (Ariz.) Fightin' Falcons, the Yuma (Ariz.) Scorpions and the traveling Samurai Bears.

The GBL season, which begins in late May and ends in early September, consists of 90 games. Each team has a 24-player roster. For more information, go to the league's web site at www.goldenbaseball.com.