Baseball will return to Ottawa Stadium this summer in the form of a team in Ontario's Intercounty Baseball League, the oldest baseball league in Canada. The league has been in continuous operation since 1919.

On Wednesday, the IBL awarded an expansion franchise to Ottawa Stadium Group (OSG).

Ottawa's team will be the league's ninth member for the 2010 season.

The new franchise will announce its team name and head coach next week. It has already begun to put together a roster of players.

The team will compete against teams such as the Barrie Baycats, Guelph Royals, Hamilton Thunderbirds, Brantford Red Sox, Kitchener Panthers, London Majors, Mississauga Twins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The games will play out of Ottawa Stadium, a 10,300 seat ball park formerly known as Lynx Stadium when it was playing host to triple-A baseball, and most recently, independent professional baseball.

"The IBL wishes to thank Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien and city councillors who saw the need to utilize the stadium for the multiple uses that the community will receive," said Joe O'Neill, commissioner of the IBL.

The stadium group will also be announcing details on some of the unique ticketing packages and "double play" season ticket packages that deliver a "double dose of value" to purchasers, O'Neill said in a new release.

Rosters in the league are filled with top local players and talented Canadian and U.S. players from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities, O'Neill said.

Baseball fans will welcome the new team after the Ottawa Rapidz baseball team last year ended its run with the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am) league after just one season.