Minor League Baseball wanted a local investor in the ownership group of the Richmond Flying Squirrels. So did Lou DiBella, the Double-A franchise's president and CEO. Brian Callaghan filled the slot.
DiBella introduced Callaghan, 39 and a 1993 Virginia Tech graduate, Thursday at The Diamond during a Squirrels' event set up to display ballpark improvements.
"He made a significant investment in the team," DiBella said of Callaghan, founder and co-CEO of Apex Systems, Inc., a Richmond-based company that provides temporary and temporary-to-permanent technical staffing. "He is now part of what we call the Chairman's Council, which is sort of like the board of directors of the team. We wanted a Richmond voice on that board."
Callaghan attended Lake Braddock High School in Burke and worked in Northern Virginia, Oregon and New York prior to settling in Richmond. He founded Apex Systems in 1995.
DiBella, who lives in New York City, leads an ownership group of about 35 investors. Callaghan chose not to reveal the amount of his investment, but said he was one of the larger minority investors, and characterized his role as the local link for the ownership group.
"You have to have somebody who's on the ground, who understands what it's like to be in the community," Callaghan said. He added that he is in position to speak with business and community leaders on a regular basis, "and I think it's important for an operation like the Squirrels to have that kind of connection."
When the Richmond market was vacated by the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A franchise following the 2008 season, Minor League Baseball pushed for majority local ownership of the new Richmond team. That plan dissolved when Richmond Baseball Club LC, due to lack of funds, failed to close the $15-million deal for DiBella's franchise.
"That gave us an opportunity, and when we got that opportunity, we jumped on it," DiBella said.
Minor League Baseball granted DiBella permission to transfer the franchise to Richmond. Minor League Baseball selected the franchise, which was the Connecticut Defenders, as a candidate for relocation primarily because of attendance issues in Norwich, Conn.
Callaghan formally joined the ownership group in January.
"Watching the [management] team that they've assembled, watching the way they approached it, was something that really hooked me," he said. "I remember an early conversation with them, talking about it as an investment, and they said, 'You need to understand, you're not in the baseball business, you're in the family-entertainment business.'
"That type of attitude to me was the hook that I really think we needed."
DiBella said he has no intention of relinquishing his role as head of the ownership group. He said there is a possibility of adding other Richmond-area residents as investors
Showing posts with label Richmond Baseball Club LC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richmond Baseball Club LC. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Businessman is passionate advocate for baseball in Richmond
Critically evaluate Bryan Bostic's belief that minor-league baseball can greatly enhance a community's quality of life. Challenge his contention that Shockoe Bottom is the ideal location for a new ballpark.
Questioning his commitment to those positions is a tougher task.
Dating back to his involvement with the Richmond Ballpark Initiative, the local businessman has spent the past seven years advocating an upgraded baseball experience in a modern facility. Since the Atlanta Braves announced in January 2008 that they were moving their Class AAA franchise to Gwinnett County, Ga., Bostic says he has worked nearly every day toward his goal of returning baseball to Richmond.
Bostic, 47, acknowledged that the effort has included "hundreds of thousands of dollars" from his personal account. He has made more than 80 presentations to Richmond-area groups.
Why the investments in passion, time and resources?
"I was tired of going to all of these other cities and seeing how they had leveraged baseball as a catalyst for growth and revitalization, and how we weren't," said Bostic, a Richmond native who grew up in Newport News. "If we're going to spend money, let's spend it wisely. Let's create an economic-development opportunity."
Seven months ago, Bostic was among those who introduced the Shockoe Center proposal, a $318 million development with a $60 million ballpark. "We've done our homework," said Bostic, who strongly believes that the success of downtown ballparks in many other locales provides a blueprint for Richmond.
"Why should we be different? Just because baseball has been played on the Boulevard for 50 years?" Bostic said. "That doesn't mean it's right. It just means that's where it's been."
He is chairman of Richmond Baseball Club LC, which is in the process of purchasing a Class AA franchise -- the highest competitive level from which a franchise is available -- for the purpose of relocating it to Richmond and, in the short term, The Diamond.
Bostic, a former James Madison University tennis player, moved to Richmond in 1985 and launched 2b Technology. That became a global ticketing and reservation business for museums, zoos and other attractions. In 2000, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc. acquired the company in a reported $23 million, all-stock deal.
Bostic may be genetically wired to ensure that Richmond has pro ball. During the mid-1950s, his grandfather, Ed Phillips, was instrumental in raising money to turn Parker Field, which had been used for football and horse racing, into a baseball facility for the Richmond Virginians, the New York Yankees' Class AAA team.
The city continues to study the Shockoe Center proposal. Bostic continues to pitch.
"This is a huge challenge, there's no doubt about it," he said. "But I believe this community has real opportunity in front of it. It just needs to open its eyes to what other communities have done and we haven't."
Questioning his commitment to those positions is a tougher task.
Dating back to his involvement with the Richmond Ballpark Initiative, the local businessman has spent the past seven years advocating an upgraded baseball experience in a modern facility. Since the Atlanta Braves announced in January 2008 that they were moving their Class AAA franchise to Gwinnett County, Ga., Bostic says he has worked nearly every day toward his goal of returning baseball to Richmond.
Bostic, 47, acknowledged that the effort has included "hundreds of thousands of dollars" from his personal account. He has made more than 80 presentations to Richmond-area groups.
Why the investments in passion, time and resources?
"I was tired of going to all of these other cities and seeing how they had leveraged baseball as a catalyst for growth and revitalization, and how we weren't," said Bostic, a Richmond native who grew up in Newport News. "If we're going to spend money, let's spend it wisely. Let's create an economic-development opportunity."
Seven months ago, Bostic was among those who introduced the Shockoe Center proposal, a $318 million development with a $60 million ballpark. "We've done our homework," said Bostic, who strongly believes that the success of downtown ballparks in many other locales provides a blueprint for Richmond.
"Why should we be different? Just because baseball has been played on the Boulevard for 50 years?" Bostic said. "That doesn't mean it's right. It just means that's where it's been."
He is chairman of Richmond Baseball Club LC, which is in the process of purchasing a Class AA franchise -- the highest competitive level from which a franchise is available -- for the purpose of relocating it to Richmond and, in the short term, The Diamond.
Bostic, a former James Madison University tennis player, moved to Richmond in 1985 and launched 2b Technology. That became a global ticketing and reservation business for museums, zoos and other attractions. In 2000, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc. acquired the company in a reported $23 million, all-stock deal.
Bostic may be genetically wired to ensure that Richmond has pro ball. During the mid-1950s, his grandfather, Ed Phillips, was instrumental in raising money to turn Parker Field, which had been used for football and horse racing, into a baseball facility for the Richmond Virginians, the New York Yankees' Class AAA team.
The city continues to study the Shockoe Center proposal. Bostic continues to pitch.
"This is a huge challenge, there's no doubt about it," he said. "But I believe this community has real opportunity in front of it. It just needs to open its eyes to what other communities have done and we haven't."
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