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Dayton
Business Journal
Report:
Preliminary deal reached for sale of Dayton Dragons
Joe
Cogliano
A
preliminary deal has been reached for the sale of the Dayton Dragons,
according to an article in Baseball America.
The
deal for the Dragons — in the possible $40 million range — would
mark the highest figure ever paid for a minor league baseball team,
the article says citing anonymous sources.
Owner
Mandalay Baseball is selling the Dragons, along with two other minor
league teams. But the Dragons, the single A affiliate of the
Cincinnati Reds, are the real prize.
The
team — which owns the record for most-consecutive sellouts for any
U.S. sports team — has brought nearly 8.2 million attendees since
2000, making it the largest attraction in Dayton. The Dragons have
sold out nearly 1,000 games at the field, all of them since Fifth
Third Field opened in 2000.
Bob
Murphy, president of the Dragons, told the Dayton Business Journal,
“We do not comment on discussions or negotiations.”
According
to Forbes, the Dragons are worth an estimated $31 million, making
them among the valuable in all the minor leagues. Despite being a
class A ballclub — instead of the higher levels such as AAA, which
have players closer to the Major League Baseball level — the Dayton
Dragons are the No. 6 most valuable in the minors.
The
Dragons have an annual revenue of $9.4 million and operating income
of $3.9 million, according to Forbes…
Read
the rest of the article at Dayton Business Journal
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