The owners of the Ottawa Rapidz baseball team told the Can-Am league Monday they were pulling the plug, just one month after the Rapidz completed their first season in the capital.
The City of Ottawa is among those who stand to lose money as the team folds and prepares to file for bankruptcy with debts tallying more than $1 million.
Rapidz owner Rob Hall has blamed the city for problems negotiating a long-term lease over the use of the baseball stadium as one of the things that stood in the way of the team's success.
City officials, meanwhile, said the accusation is "nonsense."
"The situation wasn't created by the City of Ottawa management by any means. We had one more year on the lease and we would have entered into a good discussion next year," Mayor Larry O'Brien told CTV Ottawa.
"I think the particular businessman in question was just looking ahead and decided he didn't want to be here anymore with the Rapidz."
Miles Wolff, commissioner of the independent baseball league, said he'll talk with the mayor to find out if he can salvage baseball in the capital.
