Olathe ? If Olathe can come up with a baseball facility, the city can have a franchise in the the independent Frontier League as soon as 2003.

Commissioner Bill Lee said during a news conference Thursday that the league is “very excited about the prospects for professional baseball in Olathe.”

Founded in 1993, the Frontier League consists of 12 teams in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri. The league plays an 84-game schedule from May to August.

The closest franchise to Olathe is in Sauget, Ill., a St. Louis suburb.