Angels to play at UVSC site next year

OREM — By 2005, the Provo Angels will have a new home and a new name, and they'll also begin playing home baseball games on a new day — Sunday.

Utah Valley State College announced that the minor league club has signed a 10-year agreement with UVSC to play its home games at the college's soon-to-be-built Parkway Crossing Stadium starting in the summer of 2005.

The Angels have never hosted Sunday games in their three years of existence in Utah County because they've been playing at Brigham Young University, which prohibits athletic events on campus on that day. The team will play their final season at BYU this summer.

As part of the contract reached with UVSC, the Angels will have the option of playing home games on Sundays, said Val Peterson, a UVSC vice president. Provo Angels general manager Dave Jacobsen said the team plans on exercising that option.

Jacobsen explained that the organization would prefer to keep the status quo regarding no play on Sunday. However, he added, despite that position, the Angels "will have Sunday games starting in 2005" due to pressure from the Pioneer League, with which the team is affiliated, to stage games on Sundays. The owners of the team, a pair of Los Angeles-based attorneys, Rob Owens and Linda Gach Ray, understand the concerns and standards of the predominantly LDS community, Jacobsen said. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints discourages its members from attending sporting events, and other similar activities, on Sunday.

The decision to play on Sunday will be determined by the Angels, Peterson said. "Sunday play is an option available to the Angels," Peterson said. "It was not prohibited in the agreement."

"As a front office, we would prefer not to play on Sundays," Jacobsen said. "But now that the option is there, the Pioneer League will force us to play on Sundays."

Provo is the only team in the Pioneer League that does not host Sunday games, a fact that has irritated some league officials and the other teams in the league. Instead, the Angels have scheduled doubleheaders on Saturdays at BYU's Larry H. Miller Field.

"I wouldn't say the Pioneer League was pushing for that (in the contract negotiations)," Jacobsen said, "but not playing on Sunday has been a point of contention with the league."

Alcohol will continue to be prohibited at Angels games, Peterson said, as spelled out in the contract. No alcohol is allowed at UVSC in accordance with campus policy.

Once the team moves to Orem, it will keep the Angels nickname but will replace the Provo name.