Mayor Jeff Longwell made the long-awaited announcement of the future of baseball in Wichita Thursday. The New Orleans Baby Cakes, a Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, will file for relocation to Wichita.
The team will be housed in a new facility. Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, the sixth oldest operating ballpark in the country, will be torn down; the city will announce a demolition bid this fall.
“[Lawrence-Dumont] cannot be salvaged,” Longwell said of the stadium, built in 1934.
The Baby Cakes, who play in the Pacific Coast League, will relocate to Wichita for the 2020 season.
“A lot of people thought we wouldn’t be able to land a team of this level,” Longwell said.