NYPL team relocation becomes official

NORWICH, Conn. -- The New York-Penn League and Minor League Baseball granted approval to the Oneonta Athletic Corporation to relocate their professional baseball franchise from Oneonta, New York to Norwich, Connecticut. The final approval was granted today, Friday, March 26, 2010.

The Oneonta Athletic Corporation announces that they will be holding a press conference on Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 12:30 pm at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut. The press conference will be to officially announce the arrival of the Connecticut Tiger into Southeastern Connecticut; along with the unveiling of the Connecticut Tigers logos and uniforms that will be used for the 2010 season.

The New York-Penn League named the Oneonta Tigers as the team to relocate to Norwich, Connecticut at a press conference held on January 28, 2010, at which time the Connecticut Tigers name was announced. An approval from the New York-Penn League and Minor League Baseball was needed before the relocation could become official.

The team will play at Dodd Stadium, and the new lease agreement is for 10 years with three five-year club options.

Oneonta has been a member of the New York-Penn League since 1966 and an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers since 1999. The New York-Penn League is a Class A Short-Season league with 14 teams that each play 76 games a year. The New York-Penn League had a total attendance of 1,786,735 in 2009. Brooklyn led the league in attendance with 264,102 fans while Oneonta drew 23,521 fans.