Adelaide Crows purchase baseball team
Australian Football League (AFL) club Adelaide Crows have made moves to become an international brand with the purchase of Adelaide Bite baseball team.
The Crows hope this purchase will open them to more commercial opportunities, both here and in Japan, Korea and potentially China.
“We have often spoken about the need to diversify,” explained club CEO Rob Chapman.
“Baseball is a proven and popular sport in the United States and Asia, and it expands our brand and footprint offshore.”
The Adelaide Crows first move outside of AFL was the purchase of an esports team in 2017.
The Crows will take sole ownership of the Adelaide Bite, which will compete in the revamped Australian Baseball League, set to launch later this year.
In a press conference held in Adelaide on Tuesday morning, Crows CEO Andrew Fagan explained the acquisition didn’t cost the club any money.
“As part of the revamping of the league, there is no capital outlay,” he said.
“It was just a commitment to obviously fulfil the terms of the licence that the ABL and Baseball Australia have granted us.
“So effectively it’s a zero-cash transaction.
“We’re really confident in the modelling that we’ve done that this will be a net positive for the Bite and for the Adelaide Football Club.”
Baseball SA and Adelaide Bite CEO Nathan Davison said “[The partnership] creates new commercial opportunities, supports the existing hard-working staff and will assist in fostering better talent pathways that will benefit generations to come.”
Crows chairman Rob Chapman also expressed the importance of this deal.
“Our board and senior management have a clear focus on building sustained success both on and off the field in a sports and entertainment landscape that is becoming increasingly competitive,” he said.
“Baseball Australia fielded significant interest for licenses from throughout Australia and overseas, and we are appreciative of their recognition of both our organisational capability and the importance of Adelaide continuing to be represented at the highest level of baseball in this country.”
