Diamonds in the Rough
This article appears in the February 2026 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Read more from the issue.
Public ownership is more prevalent in the minor leagues of sports. For example, Rochester Community Baseball is a locally operated nonprofit corporation that has owned the Rochester Red Wings since 1957. The Triple-A Minor League team affiliated with the Washington Nationals in 2021. While Rochester Community Baseball’s stock is not publicly traded, it is owned by local shareholders.
Rochester businessman Morrie Silver was instrumental in establishing the ownership model after the St. Louis Cardinals, which had owned both the Red Wings team and the stadium, announced plans to sell in the fall of 1956. In the months that followed, Silver leveraged his stature as a prominent entrepreneur to organize a stock drive that would later become known as the “72-Day Miracle.”
“With a lot of friends and a lot of outreach, [he] was able to put this deal together,” said Naomi Silver, Morrie’s daughter and the president and CEO of Rochester Community Baseball. “People really rallied behind it.”
The community raised $400,000 to prevent the Red Wings from relocating, just shy of the $500,000 price tag for both the team and the stadium. Rochester Community Baseball took out loans to cover the remaining costs; Morrie Silver also fronted $25,000 of his own money to keep the Red Wings in Rochester.
Nearly seven decades later, the Red Wings continue to command a durable form of civic loyalty in upstate New York. During the 2024 regular season, the team attracted more than 445,000 fans and recorded its highest single-game attendance record. Over 430,000 fans attended Red Wings games this past season.
Owning stock in the Red Wings is like owning a piece of history. As the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle observed, the 42,278 shares purchased during the 72-Day Miracle are still out there: “In frames hanging in dens, in long-forgotten shoe boxes waiting to be discovered, in certificates issued by the club whenever a stock changes hands, maybe passed down from one generation to the next or in a sale between two strangers.” The Chronicle also reported that as of 2016, Red Wings fans owned 33,602 shares of common stock, with the remaining shares held by Rochester Community Baseball.
Three hundred and ninety-four miles away, the Columbus Clippers also operate under a community ownership model. But rather than through a nonprofit corporation, the Triple-A team is directly owned by Franklin County, Ohio.
“Franklin is the only county in the country that owns a baseball team and the stadium in which it plays, having bought the team in the late 1970s for $25,000,” said Franklin County Administrator Kenneth N. Wilson. “Today, the team is valued at over $30 million and generates more than $14 million in annual revenue.”
The Clippers have been affiliated with the Cleveland Guardians since relocating from Cooper Stadium to union-built Huntington Park in 2009. The team has also maintained a rolling five-year seasonal average of approximately 506,000 attendees. Heading into the 2026 season, Wilson expects the Clippers to continue cementing their position as a leader in minor league baseball attendance yet again.
In addition to storied traditions such as “Dime-a-Dog Night,” where fans can purchase a hot dog for ten cents, the cost to see a Clippers game has hardly changed since the team started playing in 1977. Back then, general admission prices were $5 for adults and $2 for youth or senior citizens; general admission is now priced at just $8 for adults and $6 for youth or seniors, well below the rate of annual inflation. Discounts are also available for county employees, local residents, and first responders. “The Columbus Clippers are truly Franklin County’s team because the residents own them, and it’s a community asset with a long history of various benefits, such as family-friendly pricing to see Triple-A baseball,” Wilson told the Prospect.
The county’s ownership of Huntington Park is distinct from typical stadium deals, which are often supported by subsidies that do little in the way of economic development and much to protect private profits. According to Wilson, the team’s corporate partnerships, like stadium naming rights given to Huntington Bancshares under a long-term partnership cumulatively valued at $12 million, all go to Franklin County, which then invests in the nonprofit that runs the team on the county’s behalf.
The Red Wings have a similar model of stadium ownership; Innovative Field is owned by Monroe County, New York. Rochester Community Baseball leases it from the county, and Innovations Solutions purchased the naming rights. But corporate sponsorships are secondary to the Red Wings’ core model. Ticket and concession sales drive reinvestment in the stadium, while sponsorship dollars are primarily used to enhance the fan experience through promotions and community-focused events. In fact, the Red Wings hold 100 not-for-profit events over the course of the year at Innovative Field.
“When there’s local ownership, you take a certain pride in that ownership,” Naomi Silver said. “Having people feel a closeness to it, enjoyment from it, means everything in the world to me.”
According to Silver, wealthy individuals and private equity firms that own multiple franchises “may not understand where the shortcomings are, or even where the successes are” of the sports teams they own.
“All I know is where my heart and soul is,” Silver said. “Maybe they feel that they are just as dedicated to the communities that they’re in, but … I’ve always felt a real deep-rooted feeling, and I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that my father put his heart and soul into it.”
The post Diamonds in the Rough appeared first on The American Prospect.