A new ownership group led by Endeavor Group Holdings has purchased the San Jose Giants as one of nine minor league teams the group has purchased.

Using a newly formed subsidiary called Diamond Baseball Holdings, the group now owns more teams than any other single ownership group.  There are no expected changes to the team, as DBH announced that the team will retain its existing leadership, including team President and CEO Daniel Orum and COO Ben Taylor.

In a press release, the group said that “DBH will support its Clubs with ticket sales, partnerships, naming rights, food & beverage, merchandising, content strategy, collectibles/authentics/NFTs and media rights, tapping into the broader Endeavor network including Learfield and Endeavor Analytics for expertise across the various disciplines.”

Previously, the San Jose Giants were primarily owned by the San Francisco Giants, with a 55% ownership stake, and with Progress Sports Management holding 45%.  It was not specifically announced if DBH picked up only a majority stake, or full ownership.  The San Jose Giants will continue to be an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

Endeavor Group Holdings owns a wide range of assets, including IMG, a prep school and sports training facility, the mixed martial arts group UFC, the Professional Bull Riders organization, EuroLeague Basketball, and an eSports partnership with Turner called ELeague.

The other eight teams purchased including the Iowa Cubs (AAA), the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (Yankees, AAA), the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals, AAA), the Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees, High-A), and the entire Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates, the Gwinnett Stripers (AAA), the Mississippi Braves (AA), the Rome Braves (High-A), and the (former Giants affiliate) Augusta GreenJackets (Low-A).  The new CEO of DBH is Peter Freund, who was the previous majority owner of the Memphis team, and was a consultant with the Commissioner on the MiLB transition and spearheading the formation of the new MLB Draft League.

The purchase was made possible because a change in the MLB/MiLB Professional Baseball Agreement now allows for a single ownership group can own more than one team in a league.  DBH indicated it is in negotiations to purchase even more teams in the future.  According to Baseball America, limits have been put in place for DBH to not be able to purchase more than nine team in any classification, an no more than 24 teams total before the 2022 season.  It’s seen as a temporary limit, so that MLB and others can assess the effects of the purchases.

The big league Giants began purchasing an ownership piece in 2009, when they purchased 25 percent of the team, and purchasing a controlling interest in 2010.  San Jose is in need of a new ballpark, as Excite Stadium (formerly known as Municipal Stadium) is one of the oldest parks in minor league baseball and does not have many of the required amenities.  During the pandemic, Santa Clara County supervisors had included a plan for a new stadium at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.  It is not clear how the new ownership of the Giants would affect that plan.