OKC RedHawks Undergoing Massive Changes

In 2011, the RedHawks will have new owners and will be affiliated with a different MLB team.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:57 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Sep 15, 2010 12:29 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City RedHawks are in the process of making major changes, with announcements on consecutive days of changes in ownership and Major League Baseball affiliation.

The Round Rock Express announced Tuesday that it will become the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, effectively ending Oklahoma City’s 27-year relationship with the Rangers. In that span, the Oklahoma City team changed from the 89ers to the RedHawks and moved into the Bricktown Ballpark.

The affiliation change had been rumored since Nolan Ryan’s ownership group completed its purchase of the Rangers in early August. Ryan and his sons are also principal owners of the Express, which was previously the farm team for the Houston Astros.

The Rangers’ decision to change their farm team could cause a domino effect throughout Minor League Baseball. The Astros will now have to choose a new Triple-A team, and reports indicate they are leaning toward selecting the Nashville Sounds, currently associated with the Milwaukee Brewers.

As teams continue to change hands, an MLB club will eventually have to pick up the RedHawks. Once that happens, the RedHawks’ entire roster will change. Everyone who played for Oklahoma City last season will now move to Round Rock, while whichever new MLB team chooses the RedHawks will move its Triple-A roster to Oklahoma City.

If that news was not enough, it was also announced Wednesday that the RedHawks’ ownership will be changing hands. Mandalay Baseball Properties, LLC (MBP) purchased the team from OKC Athletic Club and principal owners Bob Funk Sr. and Scott Pruitt.

“We are very excited about this transaction and the opportunity to bring MBP’s quality family entertainment experience to the vibrant Oklahoma City market,” Peter Guber, Chairman of MBP, said in a statement.

The Oklahoma City Council approved the potential sale of the RedHawks in late June. At the time, Funk told Oklahoma Sports that he had decided to sell the team because the offer was “too good to refuse.”

“It has been a great run since we first owned the team in the 2004 season,” Bob Funk Jr., said. “We are proud to have been part of the great Oklahoma professional baseball history. We are also happy to welcome Mandalay Baseball Properties to Oklahoma City.”

The new ownership group will be thrown into the fire immediately, with negotiations for a new parent organization beginning this week.

“The window to begin having discussions with other Major League affiliates opens up tomorrow,” said ArtMatin, the CEO of Mandalay Baseball Properties.“Honestly, we don’t know yet if we have one choice, two choices or four choices. We haven’t been informed of the list of major league affiliates who might be up for a change in Triple-A.”

Matin did not name any organizations that MBP is considering, but said they will make sure to choose one that suits the Oklahoma City area best.

“We can all sit around and speculate, but there is really no value in that,” Matin said. “So we are going to wait until we get an official notice and then we are going to start the process and through it as quickly as we can to determine who we think is the best match for this market.”

The RedHawks are just one member of a growing list of Minor League Baseball teams owned by MBP. MBP currently owns or operates six other Minor League teams: the Dayton Dragons, Erie SeaWolves, Frisco RoughRiders, Hagerstown Suns, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and Staten Island Yankees.