Kings Owner in Talks to Buy MiLB Team for Record Price

A consortium led by Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is reportedly close to securing a deal to buy the city’s minor league baseball team — the River Cats — for roughly $90 million.

The potential sale — which would include the team’s home field, Sutter Health Park — would mark the highest purchase price ever for a minor league baseball team.

• The River Cats are owned by the family of late San Jose Sharks CEO Art Savage.
• The team is a Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
• Sutter Health Park opened in 2000 and cost $46.5 million to build at the time.
• Ranadive, a tech entrepreneur, is estimated to be worth more than $700 million. 

The sale would come in handy, as the Savage family needs to repay bonds related to Sutter Health Park’s construction after the River Cats moved from Vancouver to Sacramento in 2000.

The 15,000-seat ballpark, which was paid for using $40 million of public bonds issued by the River City Regional Stadium Authority, has seen a drop in attendance following the pandemic. 

Minor League Sales 

Earlier this month, private equity company Silver Lake agreed to purchase Diamond Baseball Holdings from Endeavor for $280 million.

Endeavor owns 10 minor league baseball teams through DBH — including affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees.