Hagerstown Suns' owner delays sale of team

The owner of the Hagerstown Suns minor-league baseball team said yesterday he would delay putting his team up for sale while officials work out the details of a funding plan for a new stadium.

The owner, Winston Blenckstone, had said if a funding plan was not in place by yesterday he would sell the team, a Toronto Blue Jays AA affiliate, which likely would mean the end of professional baseball in Washington County.

Blenckstone said yesterday he would wait "a reasonable" time for a plan to be approved. He extended the deadline, he said, because "significant progress" was being made in completing a plan.

Several competing plans have been in the works for the stadium. It is expected to cost about $12 million, which would be shared by the city, county and state. It would replace Hagerstown's 69-year-old Municipal Stadium.