Residents in Sendai celebrate Tuesday's announcement that the city will have a professional baseball team next season.

The Golden Eagles will be the first new team since 1954.

After 50 years, Japanese baseball will get some new blood that could stem the declining popularity of what was once easily the nation's No. 1 sport.

Nippon Professional Baseball officials Tuesday unanimously agreed to allow Internet mall operator Rakuten Inc. to set up a team in Sendai.

While club ownership has changed periodically over the years, Tuesday's decision is the first since 1954 to allow a new franchise into the game.

The move was made necessary by the merger of the money-losing Orix BlueWave and Kintetsu Buffaloes. With only five teams in the Pacific League and players striking to maintain their employment opportunities, team owners were forced to allow an unknown entity into their exclusive club.

The owners had to choose between Rakuten and another Web-based company, Livedoor Co. An analysis of the financial conditions of the companies and their baseball plans convinced owners that Rakuten was in a better condition to maintain a viable franchise over the long term.

``There were various developments to reach this point, but I am now filled with happiness and a sense of mission,'' Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani said after the historic decision. ``I also feel a strong sense of responsibility since we, rather than another company, were picked to join.''

The new team will be called the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and use Miyagi Baseball Park as its home ground. Sendai has not had a pro baseball team since the Lotte Orions between 1973 and 1977.

Yasushi Tao, a former player with the Chunichi Dragons and other teams, has been named team manager with Daisuke Yamashita taking the head coaching duties. Yamashita recently quit as manager of the Yokohama BayStars.

Baseball commentator Marty Kuehnert was hired as general manager, the first time a non-Japanese has been given such an important executive position with a ballclub.

The bulk of the team's roster will consist of players not signed by the Orix Buffaloes. The team also indicated it plans to draft pitcher Yasuhiro Ichiba, a former university star marred by his acceptance of cash from pro teams.

``I hope for a unique team that is closely affiliated with the region, unlike any of the other 11 teams,'' Miyagi Governor Shiro Asano said. ``In order to run the team for the long term, it is absolutely necessary for fans in this region to love the team and go to their games.''

Tuesday's decision is a bitter pill to swallow for Livedoor President Takafumi Horie. When he announced plans to start a new franchise, Horie said he would make Sendai the team's home base. Rakuten officials initially indicated they would base their club in Kobe.(IHT/Asahi: November 3,2004)