Calgary Vipers

History

Calgary had been without professional baseball since the Triple-A Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2002. The independent Canadian Baseball League's Calgary Outlaws played only half a season in 2003 before that league folded, and the college-level Calgary Dawgs of the Western Major Baseball League began play that same year. On April 3, 2004, the Northern League announced it was expanding to Alberta with new franchises in Edmonton and Calgary. The Calgary franchise was owned by Japanese businessmen Hiro Masawa and Naoto Higuchi, incorporated as Calgary Baseball LLC. The two Alberta teams were required to pay a C$60,000 annual travel subsidy to offset costs for other league teams to fly into the city. Calgary Baseball LLC promised significant renovations to Foothills Stadium, but little progress was made, prompting the league to investigate the franchise in November 2004. On December 10, commissioner Mike Stone revoked the franchise and stripped Calgary Baseball LLC of ownership. On February 11, 2005, the league sold the franchise to Winnipeg businessman Jeffrey Gidney, who had less than three months to hire staff, sign players, and name the team. The team quickly adopted the name Vipers and began signing players. Despite the short preparation time, the Vipers finished second in the Northern division in both halves of the 2005 season. They played their first game on the road against the Sioux City Explorers on May 20, 2005, losing 7–3, and won their first game the following night 12–2. Their first home game on May 27 was a 9–8 victory in 11 innings over the Joliet Jackhammers.