Guadalajara sports fans’ biggest regret over the past two decades has been the absence of a professional baseball team in the city.

More than 20 years ago, the Charros de Jalisco regularly  filled the baseball stadium at the corner of Avenida Revolucion and Olimpica. But since that old structure was demolished, no financier has stepped in to bring the much loved sport back to the city.

Many fans believed the new stadiums built for the 2011 Pan American Games would auger the return of the Charros, but alas this is not to be.

The Pan Am baseball stadium was eventually built in LaGos de Moreno, two hours north-east of Guadalajara. But the possibility of the Charros playing here in either of Mexico’s professional leagues (Liga del Pacifico and Liga Mexicana) were scotched when both leagues confirmed that the facility does not meet their standards or specifications.

Another idea to convert the impressive Pan Am Athletics Stadium in Guadalajara for baseball was ruled out this week by Jalisco Sports Commission Director Carlos Andrade.

“No one agrees that we should use the stadium for other sports as it would mean taking out the running track,” he said.

Andrade said Guadalajara now has the “best athletics track in Mexico” and the stadium would be used solely for this sporting purpose.