The Tucson Baseball Team’s home debut will be delayed at least another week.
TBT will play this weekend’s series vs. Yaquis de Obregon on the road as team ownership continues to work through visa issues with the U.S. government, according to a news release issued by Pima County.
TBT was supposed to play its first regular-season games at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium Oct. 16-19, but that series had to be moved to Hermosillo after the visa snafu arose.
It’s unclear when the situation will be resolved. In the meantime, TBT is playing all of its Mexican Pacific Winter League games as the visiting squad.
“We have been in daily contact with the Cuevas family (which owns the team) as they continue to work with the federal government to resolve their visa issues,” Sarah Horvath, director of the Kino Sports Complex, said in the release. “Pima County and our partners continue to support them in their efforts.”
Tucson Baseball Team jerseys are hung for decoration during a press conference at Kino Veteran’s Memorial Stadium on June 18, 2025.
TBT’s next scheduled home series is Oct. 31-Nov. 2 vs. Caneros de Los Mochis.
Naranjeros de Hermosillo took four out of five from Tucson last week. TBT opened a three-game series at Algodoneros de Guasave with a 6-5 victory Tuesday night, scoring six runs in the fourth inning to overcome a 4-0 deficit.
Jan Lesher, Pima County Administrator, said in an Oct. 15 memorandum to the Pima County Board of Supervisors that after meeting with the U.S. Consulate in Hermosillo, it was determined that “the Department of Homeland Security and its United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) office is the appropriate agency to provide clarification and a determination” on the visa issues.
“TBT will be communicating with USCIS and are putting together a detailed summary of their business structure and how it pertains to the type of visas for their operations in the United States,” the memorandum continued. “The timing for issuance of a determination has not been determined yet, and it is unclear whether the federal government shutdown will slow the review by USCIS.”
Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher
Lesher had sent a letter to Drew Hoster, Consul General of the United States in Hermosillo, the previous day in support of the Tucson Baseball Team’s efforts. It was signed by Lesher; Felipe Garcia, president and CEO of Visit Tucson; and Edgar Soto, chairman of the Southern Arizona Sports, Tourism & Film Authority.
“We hope the issue with the baseball team’s visas can be quickly corrected and Tucson’s new hometown professional baseball team can start playing ball at Kino Stadium as soon as possible,” they wrote.
“The owners of Tucson Baseball Team have been diligent in their effort to establish their LAMP (Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico) team in Tucson and have met with Department of Homeland Security immigration agencies numerous times to obtain the visas that are now in question. They are conscientious and forthright business leaders and intend to follow all U.S., state, and local laws to become a successful Mexican professional baseball team based in the United States.
“We believe the team’s situation to be unique and ask that your office does everything it can to help our community realize this vital economic development opportunity and assist the team in obtaining the proper authorizations to complete its 2025 season in Tucson.”
The team store at Kino Stadium is open and stocked with Tucson Baseball Team gear. Store hours are 1-6 p.m. Monday-Friday.
