The Tucson Padres were a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team based in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, that competed in the

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

(PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. The team moved to Tucson from

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, for the 2011 season. In April 2014, the team moved to

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

, and changed their name to the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

Franchise history

Following the 2010 season, the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

were put up for sale after

PGE Park Providence Park (formerly Jeld-Wen Field; PGE Park; Civic Stadium; originally Multnomah Stadium; and from 1893 until the stadium was built, Multnomah Field) is an outdoor association football, soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow, Portland, ...

(now Providence Park) was remodeled into a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

-only configuration for the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

's 2011 expansion

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. In 2010, the Beavers were sold to Jeff Moorad, principal owner of the

The Move to Tucson

On October 19, 2010, it was announced a site in

Escondido, California Escondido (Spanish language, Spanish for "Hidden") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County (San Diego area), North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San ...

had been selected for the new home of the Portland Beavers. The new ballpark was scheduled to open in April 2013. Until the move to Escondido could be completed the Padres would play their home games at

Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium Kino Sports Complex is a multiple-use sports complex in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox formerly utilized the complex's main ballpark, Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, for Cactus League games each March and had thei ...

in Tucson, Arizona. In May 2011, citing reasons of proposed redevelopment revenue confiscation by the State, the ballpark plans in Escondido were placed on indefinite hold.

Franchise sale

Following the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...

's decision to uphold the 2011 decision by the State to abolish redevelopment agencies it was decided by the Mayor of Escondido, Sam Abed, the city would not be able to build the proposed stadium. In reaction Jeff Moorad announced he would sell the team if a location within the San Diego area could not be found. No sites materialized and in December 2011, Moorad decided to place the Tucson Padres up for sale. By December 2011, Moorad had received offers from buyers in three cities outside California. No offers surfaced to keep the team in Tucson. As a result, the Padres played in Tucson for the 2012 season and, in July 2012, announced they would remain in Tucson for the 2013 season as well.

Relocation to El Paso

On July 30, 2012, the Pacific Coast League gave preliminary approval to MountainStar Sports Group, an ownership group based out of

, for the purchase of the Tucson Padres. The final sale of the Padres to MountainStar Sports was approved on September 26, 2012. On October 22, 2013 in front of a capacity crowd inside the historic Plaza Theater in Downtown El Paso, the MountainStar Sports Group announced that the team would officially be renamed as the

References

{{Reflist Professional baseball teams in Arizona San Diego Padres minor league affiliates Sports clubs and teams in Tucson, Arizona Baseball teams established in 2010 Baseball teams disestablished in 2013 Defunct Pacific Coast League teams 2011 establishments in Arizona 2013 disestablishments in Arizona