GREAT PARK Baseball Stadium.

The Irvine Intercepters? The Irvine 405s? How about the Irvine Professors?

The City of Irvine is considering a deal to host a minor league baseball team that – according to published reports – could start play as early as 2027 in the Great Park Baseball Stadium in that city.

Now, the term “Great Park” doesn’t always make us North County folks grin with glee. When the Defense Department closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in 1998, a battle broke out between the two “halves” of the county.

At that time Orange County/John Wayne Airport was experiencing problems with crowding in the air and in the streets surrounding.

Northerners wanted a second Orange County airport; Southerners – concerned about the potential for noise pollution, traffic, etc. – countered with the creation of a “Great Park” on the site, which would (theoretically) be good for the whole county.

The Southerners won the argument, – Measure W – but some Northerners still feel the chief beneficiary of the Great Park in Irvine was the people of Irvine, and not so much for the rest of us.

There’s some history to minor league teams in the OC. The earliest appears to be the Santa Ana Walnut Growers in the early 1900s. Next was the Anaheim Aces of the California League, a team that folded after a couple of years due to the disruptions of World War II.

To my surprise, I found that the Angels had short-lived teams operating under the name “Anaheim Angels” in Anaheim and Fullerton in the 1970s.

Putting old grievances aside, I like the idea of a team in Irvine. Minor league teams are on an upswing, if properly funded and managed. Examples are the Brooklyn Cyclones and the Savanna Bananas.

The Great Park ballpark has a seating capacity of up to 5,500 people, good freeway access and a modern facility that could be expanded and modernized.

So let’s let bygones be bygones. Maybe the Professors will bring more success to the OC than our Big League Angels.