The Ottawa Voyageurs, previously the Ottawa Rapidz, were a professional

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team based in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada under the

Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional baseball league with teams in Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. Founded in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, the league was for ...

or Can-Am League. As a Can-Am team, the team played one season as the Ottawa Rapidz at Ottawa Baseball Stadium (now called

Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park Ottawa Stadium is a baseball stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with a seating capacity of 10,332. The stadium is located in the city's east end near the interchange of Queensway and Vanier Parkway. It has been used for minor-league professio ...

), previously home to the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

Triple-A minor league franchise. Originally, the team was to be spelled as the Ottawa Rapids until it was renamed prior to the start of their 2008 opening season. After the initial ownership declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

, the Can-Am league assumed ownership of the franchise, but suspended the team's operations in March 2009 prior to what would have been a second season.

History

The Rapids were established after the

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, an

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

team, moved to

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

after the 2007 season to become the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

. The

Ottawa City Council Ottawa City Council () is the governing body of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is composed of 24 city councillors and the mayor. The mayor is elected at large, while each councillor represents wards throughout the city. Council member ...

discussed different possibilities regarding the city-owned stadium and accepted the offer given by Can-Am League president Miles Wolff. Following their sale to

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, the team name spelling was modified to the Ottawa Rapidz. On 29 September 2008, amid reports of a $1.4 million team debt, Rapidz management notified the Can-Am league that the team would be dissolved and that

proceedings were planned. Rapidz management blamed the City of Ottawa for the situation, citing failed negotiations for the future lease of the stadium. Despite the first-season bankruptcy, trading of Rapidz players continued in the Can-Am League offseason, with such activity reported as late as 13 October 2008. The Can-Am League announced on 13 November 2008 that a team would operate in Ottawa for 2009, operated directly by the league while new ownership was sought. Can-Am league commissioner Miles Wolff confirmed this development in Ottawa, displaying the original bilingual

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, with the spelling changed back to Rapids (English)/Rapides (French), but cautioned that the name was not yet final and that the team might operate under a new name. In February 2009, the team was rechristened as the Voyageurs after a name-the-team contest won by Michael Jacobsen. However, the Voyageurs would never take the field as the Can-Am league announced on 30 March 2009 that the team and the

Atlantic City Surf The Atlantic City Surf were a professional minor league baseball team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Surf was most recently a member of the Can-Am League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The Surf played its home gam ...

would cease operations. League commissioner Miles Wolff indicated the team lacked financial support and "solid ownership" in order for the franchise to continue. On 3 April 2009, Voyageurs players were made available to the six remaining teams in the league in a dispersal draft.

Logos and uniforms

File:Ottawa Rapids.PNG, Former Rapids logo, ''English'', prior to 2008 season File:Rapides d'Ottawa.PNG, Rapides logo, ''French'', prior to 2008 season File:Ottawa Rapidz.PNG, Rapidz former primary logo, 2008

Standings and statistics

2008 season (Rapidz)

The Ottawa Rapidz finished last in the Can-Am League, with a 13-34 (.277) performance in the first half of the 2008 season, followed by an 18-29 (.383) record in the second half. The Rapidz tied the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are a professional baseball team based in Paterson, New Jersey. The Jackals compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is ...

for last place in the second half-season. Total attendance of the 46 Rapidz home games was 147,073 for a per-game average of 3,197.

2009 roster

Game broadcasts

In 2008, local radio broadcasts of 80 Rapidz season games were provided in French by

CJRC-FM CKOF-FM (104.7 MHz) is a French-language commercial radio station in Gatineau, Quebec, serving the National Capital Region including Ottawa. Owned and operated by Cogeco, it broadcasts a talk radio format, calling itself "104,7 FM". Some prog ...

References

External links

* {{Ontario Sports Yoy Baseball teams established in 2008 Baseball teams in Ontario Defunct independent baseball league teams Baseball teams disestablished in 2009 Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Canada 2008 establishments in Ontario 2009 disestablishments in Ontario