Metro optimistic about prospective new Sounds owners

Masahiro Honzawa, Frank Ward, Steve Posner, who make up the Nashville Sounds' possible new ownership group, met with Mayor Karl Dean. Steve Lowry for The City Paper

It only takes two steps into Mayor Karl Dean’s office in the historic downtown courthouse before one realizes what a serious baseball fan he is.

Littered with baseball books and other mementos, Dean’s office is all but painted Boston Red Sox navy and red. On his bookshelf is a coffee mug with a doctored image of Dean jumping onto the pile during the Red Sox’ 2007 World Series championship celebration.

Dean described throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park this season as one of his most nervous moments.

It’s through that lens of Dean’s true love for the sport that his firm stance about not having baseball in Nashville next year should be viewed. Dean and his senior staff were truly willing to not have baseball in Nashville next season.

In fact, the final meeting with Sounds representatives concerning a lease extension at Greer Stadium ended with one top staffer storming out of the office. Things were looking bleak.

It was sometime after that when a New York-based group called MFP Real Estate LLC ramped up its negotiations to buy the Sounds. On Thursday, the deal was publicly announced. When it did, the potential for baseball in Nashville in 2009 and beyond improved immensely.

Dean and his staff met with the prospective new ownership group — Frank Ward, Masahiro Honzawa and Steve Posner — on Wednesday morning. Those meetings ended dramatically better than the final meeting with owner Al Gordon’s representatives.

“I thought it was a productive meeting,” Dean said. “I was excited to hear that they have plans to invest in our city and our baseball team, and I’m pleased that they are willing to improve Greer Stadium and make it a facility that Sounds fans can enjoy.

“I look forward to a long partnership with this group and to having baseball in Nashville next year.”

One reason the meeting went well is because the prospective new ownership group is committed to renovating Greer Stadium and extending the lease in the near term. According to Metro Finance Director Richard Riebeling, the previous discussions with Gordon’s group continually centered around a new ballpark.

“I thought it was very open, very friendly,” Ward said. “The mayor doesn’t know us, we have to demonstrate we are committed to Nashville. They were very receptive. I think they were happy that, you know, we’re into a new realm.”

Prospective new owners plan to invest in Nashville

There are signs that the new ownership group could succeed where Gordon failed on improving baseball in Nashville and eventually getting a new downtown ballpark.

For starters, the prospective new owners expressed the desire to invest in Nashville beyond their purchase of the Sounds, which is still subject to the approval of Major League Baseball and the Pacific Coast League. The deal is believed to be in the neighborhood of $20 million, although terms were not disclosed.

The potential new owners said they began looking into investing in Nashville earlier this year, and were not specifically seeking to buy the Sounds. Ward said MFP planned to pursue other real estate deals in the area.

Ward, who has a daughter attending Vanderbilt, said he intended to purchase a home in Nashville and live here during the baseball season. That’s a marked departure from Gordon, who operated out of Chicago and left Chief Operating Officer Glenn Yaeger to do his bidding.

“We want to get down here and get to know people and let them know we’re committed to giving them the best baseball experience possible,” Ward said.

The possible new owners did say they would like to revisit the issue of a downtown ballpark in the future. When that conversation happens, MFP will bring more to the table than the previous owner.

Whereas the previous stadium deal for a downtown riverfront ballpark, which unraveled last year, involved the Sounds, a private developer and Metro, the new ownership group said it would simplify the process.

At a meet-and-greet with local media, Ward said MFP would be willing to act as a private developer with any mixed-use project around the ballpark.

The new group is also planning on keeping current Sounds employees, who have admirably sold baseball in Middle Tennessee even with a ballpark that has become run down in recent years.

The new ownership group said renovating Greer Stadium would be their first priority, although they did not offer a dollar amount or what specific repairs might be done. A consultant has been hired to assess the stadium and advise on what can be done to improve the fan experience.

Metro was not the only entity frustrated with the current Sounds ownership group. The team’s parent organization, the Milwaukee Brewers, said the relationship with Gordon was strained.

It started when the previous stadium deal came undone. It continued this year when Gordon was required to build new standalone locker room facilities. The project, which was mandated by the PCL and the Brewers, cost $1 million. But it wasn’t finished when the season began, meaning Sounds players had to dress at LP Field and take a bus to Greer for games for the first month of the season.

“Strained would probably be the best word [to describe the relationship with Gordon], strained to say the least,” said Scott Martens, Brewers Business manager for Minor League Operations and Player Development.

According to Martens, the two components that make a positive minor league relationship for a big league club are the local support from fans and the relationship with the ownership group. Martens lauded Nashville baseball fans for supporting the Sounds even in “dilapidated Greer Stadium.”

“The only thing that was missing was the relationship,” said Martens, who added he was hopeful that could improve with new owners.

Lease extension talks to begin soon

Now the focus will return to extending the lease at Greer Stadium, which the prospective new owners say is one of their top priorities. Ward said the owners group did not see any revisions that needed to be made to the current lease.

The central issue will be what improvements can be done at Greer and how much the new group is willing to kick in.

Riebeling said there needed to be a level of trust built with Ward, Posner and Honzawa, but it was clear that the initial meeting left a positive impression.

“We agreed we would get together soon, possibly as soon as next week, to talk about how we could get a lease discussion going forward,” Riebeling said. “They’re going to have to prove themselves to us. Both sides have to be willing to give and take and let everybody know what they’re breaking point is.

“I feel personally, this is a group of people we can get there with.”