EVERETT – AquaSox preseason ticket sales are up and corporate sponsorships are at an all-time high on the eve of the 24th summer for Everett’s minor league baseball team.
Now, a half-dozen area business leaders and one of the most beloved Seattle Mariners of all time have bought a slice of the team, adding a local presence to the ownership.
“For us, it’s about giving back,” said Pete E.Carfagna, senior vice president for the AquaSox. “The club has never been stronger, and this is a way for us to really share the AquaSox with members of the community here.”
Those community members include Jay Buhner, former Mariners great, and Dino Rossi, a former state senator and candidate for governor. Businessmen from Everett and Edmonds also are part of the new minority ownership group.
“We’re honored to be a part of the AquaSox family and grow the roots of this team deeper into the community,” said Shawn Hoban, who co-owns Everett’s Coast Real Estate Services with his brother Tom.
Details of the minority ownership sale were not released. Peter A. Carfagna, AquaSox chairman and majority owner, said the share sold to them was “small,” and his family retains control of the franchise.
But Rossi said the new local co-owners will be more visible ambassadors for the team, which was run by full-time local owners from 1984 through the end of the 2004 season. While the Carfagnas’ commitment to boosting the Everett team has been evident since they bought it, they also run minor-league baseball franchises in Ohio and California.
Those Class A teams – the Lake County Captains near Cleveland and the Lancaster JetHawks – already have local minority ownership groups onboard.
Peter A. Carfagnasaid talks about selling a local stake in the Everett team began over “a lot of warm summer nights and a couple of beers” last year.
All the new owners share a love of baseball and an appreciation for the AquaSox’s family-friendly atmosphere. The children of the Hoban, Rossi and Buhner families could fill up a good part of Everett Memorial Stadium by themselves, Rossi joked.
Buhner, who said he plans to be at AquaSox games during the season, spoke fondly at a press conference Tuesday about his 2001 rehabilitation stint with the team after donning an AquaSox jersey.
“It’s a little tight,” he said. “I’ve been working out.”
Buhner said he’s looking forward to the fun of being around the minor league team. When asked whether he has an interest in buying stakes in other minor league baseball teams, as former high-profile players such as Cal Ripken Jr. and George Brett have, Buhner demurred.
“We’ll start with the Everett AquaSox and see what happens from there,” he said.
Since the 1970s and early 1980s, when minor league teams could be acquired for thousands, or even hundreds, of dollars the sport has seen rocketing attendance and a new generation of owners applying better business skills to make the teams profitable. Values of teams, even in the Class A short season Northwest League, have multiplied into millions of dollars.
Since the Everett stadium was enlarged and improved before the 1998 season, the AquaSox have attracted more than 100,000 fans a season for home games.
“Everett’s a very special franchise to me. They’ve had three good owners up there, and adding these people will add some good local color,” said Bob Richmond, president of the Northwest League. He added that the transaction needs the normal approvals from his league, Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball.
The Carfagnas emphasized that the addition of local faces to the ownership is just that. They intend to remain as the majority owners for years to come, saying they’re happy with the continued support of the team.
“This is a reaffirmation of the health of our ball club, both for the short and the long term,” Peter Carfagna said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
Members of the AquaSox’s new minority ownership group:
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