The Castellinis know most fans aren't going to go anywhere.īob Nutting in Pittsburgh knows this, too, as do ownership groups of other small-budget clubs. There are no local major-league alternatives within most cities. To own the franchise name embroidered on the front of the jersey is to possess something different than a truckload of tomatoes (even if you have no competitors). The owners also enjoy the hold their asset has on fans' emotions and loyalties, which are tied to summertime traditions within a region. While COVID-19 may have hampered yearly revenues, it didn't affect franchise values. It's a lucrative investment and a safe one. One of the reasons why MLB clubs are such great businesses to own - much better than the stock market - is because to own a team is to own part of a legal territorial monopoly in the industry of Major League Baseball, which enjoys national interest and a federal antitrust exemption. That's one of the quiet parts said aloud. Let's begin where Castellini began in addressing fans' complaints as expressed by Egger: The answer lays bare the disconnected relationship we see between fans and owners in some markets. I think we’re doing the best we can do with the resources that we have.' Reds owner Bob Castellini has held the team since 2005. Sell the team to who? That’s the other thing - you want to have this debate? If you want to look at what would you do with this team to have it be more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exists (in)? It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. 'Well, where are you gonna go?' Castellini said.

It came near the end of a 12-minute interview in which Castellini said the pandemic broke the Reds' revenue streams and necessitated the recent selloff. On WLW-AM, host Mo Egger asked Castellini why fans should 'trust' ownership after 15 years with four playoff appearances and no division titles since 2012.

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