LAMP: Renovation Approved for Estadio Manuel ‘Ciclon’ Hechevarria – Could Mayos de Navojoa Return?

A year after announcing they would move to Tucson, Arizona, for the 2025-26 season, but ultimately never playing a game there, the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico franchise once known as the Mayos de Navojoa could once again be calling the city of Navojoa home.

According to a post on X from BeisbolPuro, the team’s former home in Navojoa, the 56-year-old Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echeverria, will undergo a renovation that will begin Wednesday, April 8, according to a document from the state government.

MODERNIZARÁN ESTADIO DE NAVOJOA

El Estadio Manuel “Ciclón” Echeverría será sometido a obras de modernización y adecuación.

La casa de los Mayos de Navojoa comenzará a ser renovado el miércoles 8 de abril. Mañana se declara al ganador de la licitación para llevar a cabo la obra.… pic.twitter.com/wzuQt6cCn8

— Beisbolpuro (@Beisbolpuro) April 6, 2026

The Mayos, who played in Navojoa from 1959 to 2025, officially moved to Tucson for the 2025-26 winter season, but never played a game there after being unable to secure visas necessary for foreign-born players and staff to work in the United States. Starting the season with a road game in Hermosillo before they expected to host the Naranjeros for their first four home games at Kino Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, the Tucson Baseball Team, as the franchise was named, ended up playing that first series – and then their entire schedule – on the road.

Despite playing on the road in 2025-26, the team did better attendance-wise than they did during their final seasons in Navojoa, drawing an average of 5,345 fans per “home” game. The club drew an average of 3,961 fans over 34 home games in 2024-25 at the 11,500-seat Estadio Manuel ”Ciclon” Echeverria in Navojoa, and it was at least the second time in three years that the Mayos finished last in the 10-team league in attendance, after averaging 3,243 in 2022-23.

Playing on the road, though, is not a permanent solution, and the Cuevas family, which has owned the club since it called Navojoa home, is now looking for a new destination.

Earlier this month, Sonora governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño voiced his support at a press conference, where he was asked about his willingness to get behind a MX$120 million (US$6.75 million) renovation of the aged Estadio Echeverria.

“We are in talks; yes, I will support it; Navojoa is a baseball-loving town and it needs it,” Durazo Montaño said according to a report from Momento Deportivo. “It’s an opportunity for recreation and to continue promoting one of the sports that most distinguishes the state. I trust that I will not leave my term without fulfilling this demand of the people of Navojoa.”

Earlier reports indicated that the franchise’s owners were considering the cities of San Luis Rio Colorado in Baja California and La Paz in Baja California del Sur as possibilities, while Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, was also a possibility.

The Mayos called Navojoa from 1959 to 2025, winning LAMP championships in 1979 under manager Chuck Goggin and in 2000 under current Tomateros de Culiacan manager Lorenzo Bundy. They finished the 2024-25 season with a 25-43 record, finishing ninth overall, and missing the playoffs. The club finished in the bottom three each of the last three seasons they played in Navojoa, with their last winning season coming in 2021-22 and their last playoff series win coming in 2017-18.

Playing on the road as the Tucson Baseball Team last season, the Team went 23-45 in the regular season, losing a tiebreaker for the final playoff spot.

Photo: Gaige Howard was one of the top performers for the Tucson Baseball Team in the 2025-26 season. After playing the entire season on the road, the team could be headed back to its original home in Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico. (Photo courtesy of the Naranjeros de Hermosillo)