Latest news with #BarryLarkin
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Orlando Dreamers Respond to Announcement that Tampa Bay Rays in Discussions with Potential Buyer
Dreamers' control ownership group was not surprised by announcement. Nothing changes for the Orlando MLB initiative as the Dreamers continue moving forward to the next phase in their process of bringing Major League Baseball to Orange County. ORLANDO, FL / ACCESS Newswire / June 19, 2025 / The Orlando City Baseball Dreamers ('Orlando Dreamers'), fresh off the first public appearance of team leadership on June 16 at the International Drive Chamber of Commerce luncheon with record attendance and media coverage, today responded to an announcement that the Tampa Bay Rays are in discussions with a group interested in potentially buying the team. Barry Larkin, the MLB Ambassador for the Dreamers, confirmed that the media reports indicating the Rays were in discussions with a possible buyer group did not come as a surprise. 'We have been aware of various groups indicating interest in potentially acquiring the franchise. Multiple prospective groups have reached out to more than one of the key people affiliated with the Dreamers over recent months. This does not complicate our mission, nor does it change our plans for aggressively moving forward to the next phase of our initiative. We plan to open our downtown office in the very near future and we are laser-focused on finalizing the public side of the public/private partnership. We continue to see Orange County and the greater Orlando area as an unsurpassed market for the next MLB location,' he said. Rick Workman, the anchor investor in the control ownership group for the Dreamers, further elaborated on Larkin's comments. 'The enthusiasm for bringing MLB to our designated 35.5-acre site in the middle of the tourist corridor in Orange County is clearly at a fever pitch. We have put in place all of the key team-side pillars that Major League Baseball requires for an area to qualify for a franchise. Orlando is undeniably the top market in the country without a franchise. We have an unparalleled site for our venue, right in the middle of 80 million tourists this year, and our stadium design will be the most impressive in all of baseball. With my partner, John Morgan, in the ownership group, we are local owners committed to delivering transformative benefits to Orange County and Central Florida with this initiative. Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin provides us the baseball intuition and connectivity to round out a highly impressive leadership team,' he said. John Morgan, the other primary investor in the control ownership group, owns many successful businesses across the country, including operations in the International Drive area near the indicated stadium site. He indicated that he had been approached by people vying to purchase the Rays, with plans to keep the team in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. 'While that's a fine region, as an investor I made clear I had no interest in making a financial commitment if the team was going to remain there. For Major League Baseball, the Tampa area does not compare with Orange County. Central Florida is growing faster than Tampa-St. Pete, which is limited by elevation, water, and other challenges, especially when it comes to finding the right location for a large sports venue. In comparison, Orlando continues rapidly expanding in every direction. And don't forget: tourism matters. Las Vegas is a great example of why tourism helps sports teams succeed, and Orange County will get about double the number of tourists this year as Las Vegas will welcome,' according to Morgan. Jim Schnorf, Co-Founder of the Orlando Dreamers who has been coordinating the team acquisition and stadium financing, added further commentary. 'We have letters of intent from highly qualified investors approaching $1.5 billion in equity financing towards MLB team acquisition and have been very purposeful in limiting the investor pool at this point, despite continued strong interest from numerous other interested investor parties. The Dreamers are fully confident of arranging any supplemental senior debt financing that might be relevant to supplement the equity investment already identified. Our separate stadium funding letter of intent from a major institutional partner will provide more than $1 billion towards the team portion of construction costs, under an arrangement that is highly attractive to Orange County government and citizens, team ownership, and Major League Baseball. Senior representatives from our stadium financing source visited with us in Orlando earlier this week, further emphasizing their heightened interest in our stadium initiative.' Schnorf also reconfirmed Barry Larkin's comments at the June 16 luncheon that the Dreamers have multiple 'trips to the plate' in regards to opportunities to attain an MLB team. 'Pat Williams and I launched this mission when Major League Baseball announced the intent to expand by two teams. It was coincidental that the Rays encountered insurmountable challenges with the unexpected damage to Tropicana Field last fall and the subsequent inability to satisfactorily conclude a new stadium solution. The media has focused in recent months on this option for Orlando to acquire a team. However, there are multiple other MLB teams that also have stadium challenges, in addition to two expansion slots that will be added,' he confirmed. Schnorf concluded by saying, 'We believe it is unlikely that a sale of the Rays can consummate without an affirmative stadium site and stadium financing solution in place, steps which are very challenging and time consuming, but that we are fortunate to have under control. Regardless of the circumstances with the Rays and their discussions with any prospective buyer group, the Dreamers are continuing to move forward in concluding the final aspects of our initiative. With all the recent progress over the past 90 days, we have demonstrated that we are fully prepared for any opportunity to bring Major League Baseball to Orange County.' Orlando is experiencing a surge in tourism with meaningful growth expected from the recent opening of the new Universal Epic Universe theme park located a short distance from the Dreamers' proposed stadium site. The Orlando metro area is the most-visited destination in the country and recently passed Denver to become the #15 media market in the country. It is anticipated that Orlando will pass Detroit in 2025 to become the #14 media market in the country, the largest without an MLB team. The Orlando Dreamers previously reported that based on an independent study completed in 2023, bringing Major League Baseball to Orlando and playing in the planned domed stadium located on the 35.5 acre parcel adjacent to SeaWorld and the Orange County Convention Center will yield approximately 25,000 permanent jobs and create in excess of $40 billion in economic impact to Orange County over 30 years. In addition, the study concluded that the MLB initiative would generate an additional $26 million annually in tourist development taxes (TDT). About Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC was established to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando and Central Florida. Updates can be found at Contact: Dave Gentry RedChip Companies 1-800-733-2447 [email protected] SOURCE: Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC press release
Washington Post
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
The Reds will pay tribute to Pete Rose a day after he was posthumously reinstated by MLB
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds are paying tribute to Pete Rose on Wednesday night, a day after baseball's career hits leader was posthumously removed from the major leagues' permanent ineligibility list. The Reds are handing out a replica No. 14 Rose jersey to fans in attendance for their game against the Chicago White Sox. They are holding a pregame panel with former Rose teammates George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr., along with Barry Larkin and Eric Davis — who played for Rose when he managed the Reds. Members of Rose's family are slated to deliver the game ball and serve as honorary captains. Rose, who died in September at age 83, played for the Reds in 19 of his 24 seasons, winning two of his three World Series championships with his hometown team. His career was tarnished by a gambling scandal that led to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989. An investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose — a 17-time All-Star who finished with 4,256 hits — repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league's policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. While Rose's gambling ban made him a baseball pariah, that was never the case in a city that proudly embraces its status as the home of the oldest major league team. He was almost uniformly beloved in his native Cincinnati for his all-out playing style and his connection to the Big Red Machine — the dominant Reds teams in the mid-1970s. ___ AP MLB:
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
The Reds will pay tribute to Pete Rose a day after he was posthumously reinstated by MLB
The Cincinnati Reds are paying tribute to Pete Rose on Wednesday night, a day after baseball's career hits leader was posthumously removed from the major leagues' permanent ineligibility list. The Reds are handing out a replica No. 14 Rose jersey to fans in attendance for their game against the Chicago White Sox. They are holding a pregame panel with former Rose teammates George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr., along with Barry Larkin and Eric Davis — who played for Rose when he managed the Reds. Members of Rose's family are slated to deliver the game ball and serve as honorary captains. Rose, who died in September at age 83, played for the Reds in 19 of his 24 seasons, winning two of his three World Series championships with his hometown team. His career was tarnished by a gambling scandal that led to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989. An investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose — a 17-time All-Star who finished with 4,256 hits — repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league's policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. While Rose's gambling ban made him a baseball pariah, that was never the case in a city that proudly embraces its status as the home of the oldest major league team. He was almost uniformly beloved in his native Cincinnati for his all-out playing style and his connection to the Big Red Machine — the dominant Reds teams in the mid-1970s. ___
Associated Press
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
The Reds will pay tribute to Pete Rose a day after he was posthumously reinstated by MLB
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds are paying tribute to Pete Rose on Wednesday night, a day after baseball's career hits leader was posthumously removed from the major leagues' permanent ineligibility list. The Reds are handing out a replica No. 14 Rose jersey to fans in attendance for their game against the Chicago White Sox. They are holding a pregame panel with former Rose teammates George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr., along with Barry Larkin and Eric Davis — who played for Rose when he managed the Reds. Members of Rose's family are slated to deliver the game ball and serve as honorary captains. Rose, who died in September at age 83, played for the Reds in 19 of his 24 seasons, winning two of his three World Series championships with his hometown team. His career was tarnished by a gambling scandal that led to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989. An investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose — a 17-time All-Star who finished with 4,256 hits — repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league's policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. While Rose's gambling ban made him a baseball pariah, that was never the case in a city that proudly embraces its status as the home of the oldest major league team. He was almost uniformly beloved in his native Cincinnati for his all-out playing style and his connection to the Big Red Machine — the dominant Reds teams in the mid-1970s. ___ AP MLB:
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Baseball looking to make an India pitch again
Mumbai: Along the E66 highway that connects Dubai with Al-Ain in the United Arab Emirates stands a newly built baseball stadium. It caters to a sport popular in the United States and Japan, but largely alien in India. In November, though, the sporting oasis in the desert will be home to an Indian franchise set to compete in the inaugural season of Baseball United. The competition is the first professional baseball league that will look to engage the Middle East and South Asia region. Though still in the nascent stage of planning, the competition is slated to feature four teams – the Mumbai Cobras, Karachi Monarchs, Arabia Wolves and Mid East Falcons. The tournament was founded on an idea presented by former Major League Baseball (MLB) winner Barry Larkin, who is considered one of the greatest players of his generation. 'He came to me and said there's an opportunity for us to take baseball outside of the US,' Baseball United CEO and chairman Kash Shaikh told HT. 'It was our simple hypothesis that if we could inspire just some of these cricket fans to fall in love with America's pastime of baseball, a sport that you still hit, run, catch, throw – the same fundamentals as cricket – then we could really grow something special.' This is not the first time baseball has tried to make inroads in the Indian market. In 2008, Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh won a reality show called The Million Dollar Arm, and were signed up by MLB outfit Pittsburgh Pirates. Shaikh asserted that Baseball United, though looking to find a foothold in India, is not competing with cricket. Instead, they hope to provide another avenue for budding cricket players. 'Those 11 places in the Indian national (cricket) team are the most coveted spots across the country,' Shaikh said. 'But just because you aren't able to make it, does not mean you don't have the talent. There's a lot of levels of cricket, we wanted to create another pathway, another opportunity for people who love cricket to learn baseball. There is so much passion for sport in India, particularly with bat and ball.' At the moment, the organisers are still in search of potential owners of the four franchises, and Shaikh explained that they are also in talks with potential broadcast partners. 'We're just starting to explore selling the franchises now,' he said. 'A lot of folks from Hollywood and Bollywood have been reaching out to us about interest in the teams, particularly Mumbai.' As for the players themselves, a major chunk will be former MLB draft picks. There are expected to best players from Sweden, Lithuania, and Cameroon, to name a few, coming in as well. Around 10% of the spots in the four teams are for 'prospects from India, Pakistan, (West Asia), areas that are learning the game.' As it stands, Baseball United's first match of the season will be one that plays to the cricketing gallery – a clash between the Indian and Pakistani franchises. A first big splash in the Arabian desert.
