Glass hits it out of the park with billion dollar sale of KC Royals
The Glass family has officially sold the Kansas City Royals after much speculation and rumors over whether or not the team would be sold.
Now-former owner David Glass and family sold the Royals to a group of Kansas City investors, led by John Sherman for $1 billion. The sale marks the third time the team has changed ownership after being founded by Ewing Kauffman back in 1969. Glass purchased the team in 1999.
“The decision to sell the Royals was difficult for our family,” Glass, the former CEO of Walmart, said in the statement. “Our goal, which I firmly believe we’ve achieved, was to have someone local, who truly loved the game of baseball and who would be a great steward for this franchise going forward. In John Sherman we have found everything we were looking for in taking ownership of this franchise.”
Sherman, a Kansas City-based entrepreneur initially made his riches in the energy sector, and is also a minority owner in the Cleveland Indians, which aided in Glass’s decision to sell the team to someone with a passion for baseball. Sherman will divest his interest in the Indians.
“John Sherman and his group far exceeded our hope for the next caretaker of Royals baseball. His love for Kansas City and the game of baseball is well documented as are his philanthropic endeavors in the surrounding communities,” said Glass.
“I am enormously grateful to David and the Glass Family for this extraordinary opportunity and am humbled by the chance to team up with a distinguished group of local investors to carry forward and build on this rich Kansas City Royals legacy,” Sherman said. “Our goal will be threefold: to compete for a championship on behalf of our fans; to honor their passion, their experience and their unwavering commitment; and to carry their hopes and dreams forward in this great Kansas City region we all love - - - for decades to come.”
The Royals last won the World Series in 2015. The team has failed to make the Major League Baseball playoffs since then.