The West Coast League, featuring top U.S. collegiate NCAA players in summer baseball, has rounded second base and taken another step closer to home plate at Royal Athletic Park for the 2013 season.

Victoria city council Thursday authorized director of parks, recreation and culture Kate Friars to enter into “a confidential, non-binding memorandum of understanding” for the use of Royal Athletic Park with an entity that wasn’t specified. Although not named, that entity is the WCL.

“That’s very good news,” said WCL president Ken Wilson, from Portland.

“Every time baseball has been in Royal Athletic Park [the last being the professional Golden League in 2009 and 2010 with the Victoria Seals], people turn out to watch. That will happen again.”

A total of 45 WCL players were selected in the 2011 major league draft, including 10 in the first six rounds with pitchers Tyler Anderson of Corvallis (Colorado Rockies) and Jeff Ames of Wenatchee (Tampa Bay Rays) taken in the first round.

Wilson said the prospective owner of the Victoria team is a Vancouver businessman he can’t yet name.

“The owner is in place and he’s ready to go,” said Wilson, who himself was the first Seattle Mariners broadcaster with Dave Niehaus from 1977 to 1982, and is also part of the current rotating group that has handled M’s broadcast duties since Niehaus’ death in 2010.

“He’s been in Victoria a number of times.”

Although featuring top collegians, the teams in the WCL operate like pro clubs on a for-profit basis with all the promotions fans would expect in a minor-pro setting. Each team plays 54 games from June through August, with 27 at home. The nine current teams in the league are the Bellingham Bells, Wenatchee AppleSox, Walla Walla Sweets, Cowlitz Black Bears of Kelso-Longview and Kitsap BlueJackets from Washington state, the Bend Elks, Klamath Falls Gems and Corvallis Knights from Oregon, with the Kelowna Falcons the lone Canadian entry.

City council, however, stressed it prefers Royal Athletic remain a multi-use facility.

“We want to see multi-use,” confirmed Coun. Chris Coleman, speaking on behalf of Mayor Dean Fortin.

Multiple use of the facility is an issue because the Victoria Highlanders of the men’s United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League and women’s W-League also play at Royal Athletic.

Wilson said he has no problems with multi-use.

“We’ve been supportive all along of soccer and arts festivals being in the park, too, during baseball season,” said Wilson. “But we do need our dates and can’t be fourth in line.”

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