Escondido's aggressive pursuit of the San Diego Padres' Triple-A baseball team, which includes offering to pay the entire cost of a $45 million ballpark, has prompted San Marcos to temporarily step out of the competition.

"We're not going to spend $45 million in taxpayer money to build somebody else's stadium," San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond said Wednesday. "If something good happens in Escondido, it's good for North County and good for the region."

Empty acreage on the Cal State San Marcos campus was identified as the leading candidate for the ballpark this spring when the Padres announced plans to quickly relocate their Triple-A team from Oregon to North County, with Escondido and Carlsbad also potential sites. But Escondido pulled ahead early this summer, according to team officials.

San Marcos City Manager Paul Malone said this week that he agreed to submit a financial proposal to the team several weeks ago, but that city officials decided not to follow through when the team did not respond to a list of questions from the city.

"We're not inclined to engage in a competition," said Malone, explaining that he had not talked to team officials in nearly a month.

Malone declined to specify what San Marcos would be willing to offer, but said it would have to make good "business sense" for the city and the university.

"We're not going to shoot in the dark," he said. "And we're not going to negotiate against ourselves or anyone else."