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After nearly 30 years, Winchester is considering accommodating another professional baseball team.

The City Council discussed the issue during a recent workshop with Mayor Sean Crabtree saying the city was contacted by The Players League about potentially having a baseball team in Winchester.

The Players League is based in North Carolina and is a new take on the structure of baseball in the United States. Its format is derived from an 1890s professional baseball league under the same name where the players were team owners.

The league’s website says the “new TPL aims to accomplish the goals set out by those players over 100 years ago.”

Crabtree said it would be similar to the Tennessee Tomahawks, which were based in Winchester in the late 1990s in the Big South and Heartland baseball leagues.

The Tomahawks played in the Gamble Sports Complex which is now used by the Franklin County High School Rebels baseball team and would serve as the home to Winchester’s team in The Players League.

City Administrator Beth Rhoton said interest has been expressed by a potential investor who could contribute to getting the team in Winchester.

The council members discussed whether potential schedule conflicts with the Rebels would need to be addressed and how field-maintenance procedures would be handled.

The high school baseball regular season runs from mid-March to early May.

Rhoton said The Players League’s schedule would run from May 15 to Aug. 15, which should not conflict with the Rebels’ schedule.

Councilman Tim Wright said the City Council needs to “do our due diligence” in considering the matter to ensure pending questions are answered and the venture is in the city’s best interests.