Baseball Lynx to stay in Ottawa, for now

Only a miracle can save the Ottawa Lynx. And a miracle is what Mayor Bob Chiarelli has called for in his bid to keep Ottawa's triple-A baseball team in the city.

Chiarelli had a heart-to-heart chat with Lynx owner Ray Pecor Thursday, but neither party looked optimistic after the meeting ended.

Pecor promised that the Lynx would play in Ottawa next season, but not much else.

"Every year, I say: 'I don't know if I am coming back or not, but I'll tell you in August,' " the Vermont businessman said. And every year, he said, he has nothing new to say.

This year was no different.

The Lynx will stay in Ottawa for the 2007 season, but 2008 is anybody's guess.

The problem is the sheer lack of interest that Ottawa fans are showing in their team. With an average of just 1,000 people at every game, the Lynx has the lowest attendance record of any team in the International League, a group that includes teams from all across North America.

Chiarelli and Pecor have looked at ways to boost those attendance figures. Ottawa offered to help with the marketing, to raise the profile of a team that every citizen already knows about. But Chiarelli seemed skeptical that marketing would work, with the history of the team in Ottawa.

"I hope there's some way, there's some kind of a miracle that can turn [the team] around and they will be able to stay," Chiarelli said.

Given the options, Chiarelli said he doesnt blame Pecor for trying to sell the team to a city in the United States.

"It's no secret that Mr. Pecor has been exploring other options in other locations," he said.

Baseball fans have speculated for months that the Lynx will move to Allentown, Pa., a gritty steel town north of Philadelphia that is building a new stadium in time for the 2008 season.

But Pecor said the speculation was just that: speculation.

The bottom line, Pecor said, isif Ottawa fans show some interest in the team, the Lynx will stay in Ottawa. But if the seats stay empty, it may well go somewhere else.