As baseball season approaches, I took time to research the owners of MiLB teams as ownership groups have gobbled many of the teams.
- Background: Diamond Baseball Holdings owns and operates 48 of the 120 affliated minor league teams. Prospector Baseball Group is backed by private investment firm Arctos. PBG has gained the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A) and the Akron RubberDucks (Double-A), among other teams. The teams and their stadiums are seen as good investments.
More Community Focused
Families still own teams that are committed to their communities. Three stood out.
Quint and Rishy Studer own two affiliated minor league teams: the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the High-A Beloit Sky Carp, both Miami Marlins affiliates.
- The Blue Wahoos are the first team in Minor League Baseball history to simultaneously win Baseball America’s Bob Freitas Organization of the Year, Ballpark Digest’s Ballpark of the Year, and MiLB’s Best Overall Golden Bobblehead in a single calendar year.
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In their first year at ABC Supply Stadium in 2021, the Sky Carp won the Ballpark Digest Award for Best New Food and Beverage. The next year, the team set a franchise attendance record, breaking a mark that had stood for over 25 years. Sky Carp were named the 2022 Best of Stateline winner for Best Wedding/Banquet Venue, and won Ballpark Digest’s Best Rebrand of the Year.
The ballparks in Pensacola and Beloit, Wisconsin, have helped revitalize their hometowns.
Lou DiBella – Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A, SF Giants affiliate): DiBella, a boxing promoter by trade, is probably the closest comparison to Studer in terms of genuine community embeddedness. The Flying Squirrels annually reach more than 10,000 students through education programs, make 400-plus community appearances, have renovated multiple youth baseball and softball fields across the city, and have awarded more than $150,000 in scholarships through their nonprofit Flying Squirrels Charities.
The DeWine Family – Asheville Tourists (Single-A, Houston Astros affiliate): The Asheville Tourists are owned by the DeWine family, which includes Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. His son Brian, a Clemson grad and 15-year Asheville resident, is the team president. As local residents with deep civic ties, they represent the old model of community ownership—a family with roots in the city choosing to invest in it rather than extract from it.
New Model
In December, I reported that Studer is taking his community-first model national. He has launched Community Baseball Partners (CBP), backed by family foundations rather than private equity, specifically to offer an alternative to corporate consolidation.
- “We’ve had offers from private equity firms. And at my age, taking money off the table is pretty attractive. But then what happens to the community?” Studer said.
CBP offers a hybrid model — buying 60% or more of a team while allowing existing owners to retain equity and exit on their own terms. Studer’s model ensures teams stay tied to their communities.
