The announcement of a Futures League franchise for Lowell's LeLacheur Park drew a large gathering on Wednesday. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

LOWELL, Mass. – It was three years ago when Lowell city councilman Erik Gitschier was sitting at Holman Stadium, watching his relief pitcher son Zach play for the Nashua Silver Knights.

Suddenly he was joined by Silver Knights owner John Creedon, Jr., who had one simple question for the Lowell politician:

“What do you think of the Futures League putting a team at LeLacheur Park, and what do we have to do to make it happen?”

The next day Gitschier was on the phone with UMass head Marty Meehan, asking him the same question.

The ball was rolling, and it came in from center field and finally arrived at home plate on Wednesday when the FCBL and UMass Lowell, which now owns LeLacheur, signed an agreement to place and FCBL team in 2026 in the ballpark that has been, for the most part, quiet in the summer since MLB dissolved the New York Penn League and teams in it, including the ever-popular Lowell Spinners.

“This has been a five year endeavor for the Futures League,” Creedon said yesterday at an outdoor press conference at the ballpark. “A lot of people worked very hard to get this. It really took so many things to align favorably, and here we are.

“It’s a special day for the Futures League, clearly a special day for the community of Lowell, UMass-Lowell, and I truly think it’s going to be one of the great rivalries in New England sports, between the Nashua Silver Knights and the Lowell team. The Route 3 rivalry, right?”

The press conference was filled with Lowell city and state officials, UMass Lowell officials, but most of the Futures League owners, Special Assistant to the Commissioner Kyle Jackson, even Nashua GM Cam Cook, Knights manager Nick Guarino and a few players. Former FCBL Commissioner Chris Hall was on hand, while current FCBL Commissioner Joe Paolucci was front and center.

“This is what we’ve been dreaming about for a few years now,” Paolucci said. “I give all the credit to John Creedon, he did all the head work on this, this was his vision, he kind of made it happen for all of us.”

What’s next? The league, which was facing competition, felt the first move was to secure LeLacheur, and then decide on a franchise owner. That should not be a problem, Creedon said.

“The league has been overwhelmed already, even before this announcement, with interest from qualified groups,” Creedon said. “We’re going to take the next month or two to sort of get to know these groups, understand their hopes, dreams and visions, understand their level of experience and pick the best fit for the Futures League, the community of Lowell, and the university.”

LeLacheur is being used primarily as the home field for UMass-Lowell, and a collegiate league team seems a perfect fit. The independent Frontier League was interested but the tipping point may have been in early June when UML officials came to see the Silver Knights second Education Day game, which drew 3,000-plus.

“It was,” Paolucci said. “They were watching John down there ripping boxes and doing the manual labor, they were pretty impressed with that and his hard work. But just that overall day, it was pretty close to a sellout there, yeah, that kind of, as you say, tipped the scales.”

The FCBL, with just six teams this year, is at what might be considered a crossroads, so this was a huge get. Pittsfield’s Wahconah Park plans are seemingly in city hall limbo, and Norwich’s future is in question because of the possibility the city may want to sell Dodd Stadium. Rockland, Mass. continues to be a strong possibility, Paolucci said.

“It’s the exact same situation (as Lowell),” he said. “We have the parameters of a lease set, we just need an ownership group. I’m hoping that there’s going to be so many groups interested in Lowell, and people that might not be successful in their bid to get this stadium, we can kind of push toward Rockland.”

Ironically, the city of Lowell did sell LeLacheur, but to the most logical buyer imaginable, the universtiy whose land it rests on. City officials would say there’s no easy way to be able to put the money needed to care for the facility. The state and the university, evidently, are doing some of the work necessary.

The FCBL secured Norwich and Vermont, two former NY-Penn League teams and their facilities, so Lowell/LeLacheur was always a target since 2020.

“We’re thrilled to welcome a Futures League team to Lowell that supports the dreams of aspiring professional athletes, provides great baseball for fans to watch and enriches life in Lowell and the Merrimack Valley,” UML Chancellor Julia Chen said. “We’re eager to work with an ownership group that sees its future backing a team in the Mill City…”

“A great day,” Creedon said, “for the Futures League.”