How One Team Purchase Could Shake Up MLB Minor-League Valuations

Diamond Baseball Holdings has spent the last four years fundamentally reshaping the affiliated minor leagues, buying up 42 clubs, but it now has landed arguably the industry’s crown jewel. 

The Silver Lake–backed DBH has acquired the Dayton (Ohio) Dragons, a Single-A affiliate of the Reds, from investment group Palisades Arcadia Baseball LLC. Far more than a typical lower-level farm club, the Dragons have sold out all 1,573 of their games in Dayton since arriving in 2000, a still-active streak that is by far the longest in U.S. pro sports history. 

The Dragons have achieved that unprecedented level of attendance success in part through a heavy focus on community involvement and non-traditional sales strategies, and the club’s operations are now expected to be a model for the rest of DBH’s still-expanding portfolio. The team’s current leadership helmed by president Robert Murphy will remain in place. 

Dayton’s per-game attendance of 8,012 in 2024 ranked third among Minor League Baseball’s 120 teams, trailing only Triple-A clubs in Indianapolis and Lehigh Valley (Pa.). In each year of the Dragons’ existence, the team has been the top draw in Single-A baseball. 

“Their 24-season sellout streak is perhaps the single most impressive statistic in North American sports,” said DBH executive chair Pat Battle and CEO Peter Freund. “It is a testament to not only how strongly the Dragons resonate with their community, but also the exemplary work by Robert Murphy and his front-office staff.”

Financial terms were not disclosed, but when Palisades Arcadia Baseball purchased the Dragons in 2014 from Mandalay Baseball Properties, the price then of about $40 million set a minor league record. More recent market-pacing deals for Triple-A teams such as in Charlotte or Sacramento have approached or surpassed $100 million—roughly equal to the recent NWSL expansion fee in Denver that set a league record. Closing on the Dragons acquisition is expected soon, subject to consent from MLB and the city of Dayton, which owns the Dragons’ home facility, Day Air Ballpark. 

The Dragons, meanwhile, continue to far exceed the confines of their local market or team classification. DBH’s portfolio also includes the Reds’ top affiliate, the Triple-A Louisville Bats. 

“DBH understands how much this team means to Dayton, and we look forward to working with them to elevate the experience at Day Air Ballpark even further,” Murphy said.