I saw in Wednesday’s Daily Gazette that Sam Nader has decided to sell his Oneonta Tigers New York-Penn League franchise, ending a 42-year association with the league.

The team is being sold to a group headed by attorney E. Miles Prentice, who also owns minor-league clubs in Texas and Alabama. Nader said the sale would keep the Tigers in the city through at least 2010.

“He’s indicated a desire to stay in the city, and that’s one of the criteria we discussed,” Nader told The Associated Press.

This has me thinking (and it can be very dangerous when my brain starts to go into thinking mode) — why can’t the we have the team move to Schenectady in 2011?

Yes, I know it’s a far-fetched dream. But hear me out.

The Tigers receive very little support in Oneonta. They average just 860 fans per game, which ranks last in the 14-team league, and they have been near the bottom for years. It amazes me that the New York-Penn League and Major League Baseball, which both have to approve the sale of the team, would allow that to happen.

By contrast, the Tri-City ValleyCats are averaging over 4,000 fans per game, sixth-best in the NY-P.

To me, having a pro baseball team in Schenectady would be perfect. Downtown is alive again, and think of what having a team in the city would do during the summer. I think downtown would be hopping even more.

Of course, that leads to one slight problem: where to build a ballpark. There isn’t exactly a lot of vacant real estate downtown to build a 5,000-seat ballpark.

There is one place that I believe could work. Taking a page from Hudson Valley Community College, where state senator Joe Bruno was able to get a ballpark built to lure the ’Cats from Pittsfield, Mass., in 2002, why not build the ballpark on the campus of Schenectady County Community College? Think about it. Playing games under the lights, and the possibility of home runs going over the left-field fence and into the Mohawk River, just like McCovey Cove in San Francisco. And how about a postgame fireworks display lighting up the sky over the Mohawk? It’s nice to dream.

Getting into and out of the SCCC parking lot could be easier if a entrance is built along the ramps that lead to Interstate 890 West.

The other issue is getting the ’Cats to agree to this. They have the territorial rights. But I think they would be agreeable to this. I don’t think having another NY-P team in the Capital Region would affect their attendance. Plus, a baseball rivalry between Troy and Schenectady would be a lot of fun.

I would hope there would be some interest by government officials, maybe even Metroplex. And wouldn’t a pro baseball team be a wonderful replacement for the World Team Tennis’ New York Buzz, who bolted Schenectady for Albany this year.

Please make my dream a reality.