The Thunder Bay Border Cats are back, with plans to take the baseball field in 2023

After a three-year hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thunder Bay Border Cats will take to the Port Arthur Stadium field once again in 2023.

The team and the Northwoods League made the announcement on Friday.

"We're obviously very excited, and we've been waiting for this day for a long, long time, including all of our fans, and all of our corporate partners and our host families," said team vice-president Bryan Graham. "It's been three years since the Border Cats played baseball, missing three seasons.

"Just very excited with the announcement today that the Border Cats are returning to the Northwoods League for the 2023 season. So baseball will be back next summer at Port Arthur Stadium."

Gary Nistico, a long-time Cats fan and season ticket holder, said the last three years were "terrible" without having baseball in the evenings. 

"It was great to get to go to a ballpark, have a beer and a hot dog, and watch a ball game. It's fantastic."

Nistico said he's excited to see the Cats returning next year, and yes, he'll be picking up another season ticket: "I hope to be first in line," he said.

"I hope everybody else that used to go will come back, and give them the support that they deserve," Nistico said. "It's great baseball."

20 players committed for next season

Graham said the team was hoping to return to play in 2022, but COVID-19 restrictions at the border prevented that from happening.

The Border Cats are the only Canadian team in the Northwoods League, which is a collegiate summer league.

"Unfortunately there were still some restrictions at the border that the league was uncomfortable with in terms of cross-border travel," Graham said. "The majority of the players are American, coming from American-based teams."

The 2023 Northwoods League schedule is still being finalized, so the date of the Cats home opener has not yet been officially set.

"As the Northwoods League enters its 30th year, we as a league are looking forward to having all of our affiliates be a part of the 2023 season," league president Ryan Voz said in a statement. "This is a milestone as the Northwoods League will celebrate 30 years of providing family entertainment across the upper Midwest in 23 different locations with 24 teams."

Graham said the Cats have hired a new field manager — more details on that will be coming next week — and recruitment is well underway.

"We have over 20 player commitments right now," Graham said. "We're going to have some local talent on the roster next summer. The fans can look forward to that.

"So we're in a really good spot right now when it comes to the composition of our roster."

Graham said the team hopes to partner with the Thunder Bay International Baseball Association for some special events next season.

"They're in the process of trying to get the [2023 Women's Baseball World Cup qualifier] next summer," Graham said. "There has been some talk, if they are successful in their bid, of doing a few things at the stadium, potentially obviously with the city's blessing."

Some further enhancements are planned for the stadium, as well, Graham said.

"We really want to sell it as more than just the baseball game," he said. "It's a summer night out of entertainment with a baseball game included, and I think the fans will really look forward to some of the new additions that we hopefully can have planned come next summer."