EDMONTON (CP) - A steady downpour washed out the Edmonton Trappers last ever game, but tears mingled with the rain as fans bid a sorrowful good-bye to the Triple A franchise.

The Trappers and the Las Vegas 51s got in just one hitless inning before the game was called, but fans seemed satisfied just to have a chance to say farewell to the franchise that has entertained them for the past 24 years.

Thousands came out with umbrellas and clad in rain slickers, toques and mittens on a chilly summer's eve for a last look at the team that won four Pacific Coast League championships at the cosy river valley park.

The sold-out crowd gave the Trappers a standing ovation as they took the field against the 51s, but there was a smattering of boos from fans still upset that the team was sold by the Edmonton Eskimos.

The Trappers close out the season on the road with four games against the Fresno Grizzlies before taking up new residence in Round Rock, Texas next spring.

It was a sad night for Rod and Sherry McKay, who have celebrated Sherry's birthday at the park numerous underneath the annual Canada Day fireworks display over the years.

Huddled under two umbrellas, with assorted nieces and nephews, the McKays said they will miss the Trappers.

"We realize we're just too far north to support a team," said Rod, an Edmonton welder.

Despite the early ending to the game, the fans were treated to a rousing last round of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, led by Olympic cycling gold medallist Lori-Ann Muenzer and a dazzling fireworks display that ended with a bang. A number of lucky fans who won a raffle got the rain-soaked jerseys off the backs of Trappers players.

While fans celebrated the good memories, it was a sad day for staff. Promotions manager Karen Gruba said she spent the day crying.

"I just don't want to say good-bye," she sobbed when it was all over. "I would have been here forever if they didn't leave. I love this place."

Field announcer Bill Cowen said working for the Trappers was the best four years of his life.

"It was four years I wouldn't trade for anything," he said.

Mel Kowalchuk, who helped bring the Trappers to Edmonton 24 years ago, saluted the fans before the game. More than seven million passed through the turnstiles since 1981.

"It wasn't for lack of support ... the fans were always there."

The Trappers are the third of Canada's four Triple A baseball franchises to leave for the U.S.

They leave the country on the heels of the Vancouver Canadians and the Calgary Cannons. Only the Ottawa Lynx remain, and officials there say the club is on shaky financial ground as a result of poor attendance.

That was not the problem in Edmonton, where the team drew more than 300,000 fans per season over 24 years.

Purchased out of bankruptcy by the Edmonton Eskimos Football club in 1999, the team was sold to a company owned by pitching legend Nolan Ryan.

Edmonton sports entrepreneur Peter Pocklington brought the club from Ogden, Utah in 1981, just as his Edmonton Oilers hockey team was starting to make noise in the NHL.

The baseball team entertained hundreds of thousands of fans for more than two decades. It first played at Renfrew Park - renamed John Ducey Park in 1984 - until the crumbling facility on the north bank of the North Saskatchewan River was bulldozed to make way for the present-day 10,000-seat Telus Field in 1995.

The Eskimos said they were under pressure from Pacific Coast League owners to sell the franchise mainly because other owners didn't like to travel so far.

The club had difficulty landing major league affiliates because of the travel and customs issues, the city's cold climate and the difficulty getting in early season games between April rains and snow showers.

But many fans were stunned when the Eskimos announced the sale as a done deal last October.

Despite the Trappers' departure, fans will still be able to get their fill of baseball next summer. Kowalchuk is bringing a Northern League franchise to Edmonton next year and while it isn't Triple A, but he promises it will be great entertainment.

While Edmonton fans are bemoaning the loss of their team, Round Rock, just outside of Austin, is anxious to see the Trappers replace their Double A club, which is moving on to Corpus Christi, said spokesman Kirk Dressendorfer.

The former Edmonton Trapper said his old team will be renamed to Round Rock Express, picking up the nickname given to the legendary hurler who now owns the team.