There’s nothing like a summer evening of baseball. The thwack of the bat hitting the ball, the smell of freshly cut grass wafting over the stands — this is the stuff of American tradition.

Now summer league baseball, long a presence on Cape Cod, may finally come to the Vineyard.

On Monday night, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School district committee voted to grant a one-year license to the Carminucci Sports Group to begin a wooden-bat collegiate franchise team based at the high school’s new ball field.

The team would be part of a summer collegiate league such as the New England Collegiate Baseball League or the Cape Cod League. Many of the best division one and two baseball players in the country spend their summers in these leagues, and some go on to play in the major leagues. The Vineyard has hosted three Cape Cod League games at the high school in recent summers, drawing huge crowds of fans every time. A franchise on the Vineyard would mean 25 to 30 games throughout the summer.

The school committee will now enter into negotiations with CSG for a final license. The committee wants to execute a license rather than a lease so it does not need to go to the state legislature for approval. After it receives a license, CSG then has to apply for franchise standing, and with most leagues organizing team schedules starting Nov. 1, the next few months are crucial.

But a summer of 2011 start date has always been the goal, said high school varsity baseball coach Gary Simmons, who was first approached by CSG a year ago. If all goes according to plan, the team will play at the new baseball field that was completed in 2007. On Monday night Mr. Simmons told the committee he sees this not only as a chance for Vineyard baseball players to engage with preprofessional athletes, but also an opportunity to help care for the field that has an annual maintenance budget of $19,000.

“I’ve asked for certain things from [CSG] that there will be things left here to continue to maintain the field,” Mr. Simmons said. He said the plan calls for acquiring a field groomer, fairway mower and a maintenance building on site. “That’s what I need at this point,” the coach said. Currently Vineyard Baseball, a nonprofit group, raises money through golf tournaments, Cape League games and advertisement banners to pay for maintenance on the field.

Committee members greeted the plan with enthusiasm. “I had an opportunity to go to the [Cape League] game this past summer and this gentleman should get a standing ovation,” committee member Bob Tankard said pointing to Mr. Simmons. “When I turned the corner I thought I was walking into Fenway Park . . . this is nothing but a win-win for the high school.”

CSG is a baseball consulting company that recruits players, manages operations and owns stakes in several minor league teams. “We’re baseball people,” president Chris Carminucci said at the meeting. “We do a lot of different things within baseball and we do it because we love it . . . I know what it can do for a community.” He said the company would hope to host exhibition games on the Vineyard with touring teams from China, Taipei, and Team USA.

The company has a built-in Island connection: vice president Darren Harrison-Panis grew up summering with his grandparents on Sengekontacket Pond. “I always saw it as a really unique market,” Mr. Harrison-Panis said, reached by telephone after the meeting. “It’s very quiet at night. I remember as a kid going to the [Flying Horses] and the Game Room [in Oak Bluffs] and that was really it. You can only watch Jaws so many times. I just knew that it would be a perfect fit.”

Mr. Harrison-Panis said the plan calls for keeping team personnel as local as possible, with the hope of hiring a general manager from the Island. A system of volunteers, families willing to host athletes during the summer, are a crucial part of the equation.

“I knew the Vineyard is a perfect community for that,” Mr. Harrison-Panis said. “It’s the Island vibe to take someone in . . . This is your team, it’s going to live and die by Vineyarders. In the end they are the core.”

He added: “We’re ecstatic to be able to get involved with a place like the Vineyard, it’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity. We’re going to need all the local support we can get.”

Mr. Harrison-Panis first came to Mr. Carminucci with the idea of a Vineyard team last December. “Darren had a vision awhile back,” Mr. Carminucci said on Monday night. “I didn’t believe it until I came here.” He continued:

“We’re taking a chance on this. We’re that confident in what we do. We want to enhance what you have, not control it.”

One issue raised about care of the field is chemicals. Committee member Susan Parker encouraged CSG to be in contact with the Vineyard Golf Club, which is all organic.

“Just tell us what you want, what’s important to you and we’ll make sure we follow the guidelines,” Mr. Carminucci said. “We know how to take care of fields.”

Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss was also enthusiastic about the possible venture.

Mr. Tankard assured other committee members that it was a good idea.

“We can sit right here on Martha’s Vineyard and be a part of [it] and have a hot dog and enjoy a game of baseball,” Mr. Tankard said. “I know I’m a baseball fanatic, but I know what I saw this summer was nothing but good.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” committee member Priscilla Sylvia agreed.

“This step is bringing a high level of baseball to the Vineyard so that the kids can see what they can achieve if they follow their goals and dreams,” Mr. Simmons said. “They can get to that level.”