KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — David Glass and his family have agreed to sell the Royals to an ownership group led by Kansas City entrepreneur John Sherman in a deal that is expected to be worth about $1 billion.
The Royals announced the sale in a statement Friday, just days after word began to leak that the Sherman group was closing in on an agreement. Sherman and his co-investors will become the third owners since another local businessman, Ewing Kauffman, founded the club in 1969.
Said Sherman:
"I am enormously grateful to David and the Glass Family for this extraordinary opportunity, and am humbled by the chance to team up with a distinguished group of local investors to carry forward and build on this rich Kansas City Royals legacy. Our goal will be threefold: to compete for a championship on behalf of our fans; to honor their passion, their experience and their unwavering commitment; and to carry their hopes and dreams forward in this great Kansas City region we all love—for decades to come."
The 83-year-old Glass and his family served as caretakers of the franchise following Kauffman's death, and they took ownership of the club for $96 million in April 2000.
Glass' statement read, in part:
"I will miss [the Royals] more than anyone realizes because I grew up loving this great game and was awarded a fantastic opportunity to own one of the 30 Major League clubs. We watched this club painfully come up 90-feet short in 2014 and then ultimately win that coveted World Series trophy in 2015. I will never forget the thrill of seeing over 800,000 people of this community come together on one sunny November day to salute the newly-crowned World Champions. It’s been a fantastic ride and I want to thank our great fans for supporting us through the years but now it’s time for someone else to oversee this franchise into its next championship and in John Sherman, we’ve found the perfect individual."
Sherman will need to divest his interest in the Cleveland Indians, believed to be about 30 percent of the franchise, and the deal is subject to the approval of Major League Baseball.
None of those issues is expected to be stumbling blocks to a final sale.
Indians majority owner Paul Dolan released the following statement on Sherman's move to KC:
"We’re very supportive of John and his group reaching an agreement to acquire ownership of his hometown Kansas City Royals. His acquisition of the Royals is good for the game of baseball and I wish him the best. John has been a great partner of ours since 2016 and we are grateful for his contributions to our organization in his time with us. Moving forward, this transition will not alter our organization’s operational approach. We remain committed to our pursuit of winning the World Series while creating a compelling fan experience."
