RSL Owner David Blitzer Officially Buys Stake In MLB’s Guardians
Jun 27, 2022, 3:17 PM | Updated: Jul 22, 2022, 3:21 pm
Real Salt Lake owner David Blitzer (Photo by sports.ksl.com)
(Photo by sports.ksl.com)
SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake majority owner David Blitzer officially purchased a minority stake in Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians.
The club announced Blitzer’s purchase on Monday, June 27.
The RSL owner bought 25 percent of the Guardians and gives him the option to “become majority owner in six years.”
“I am thrilled to join the ownership group of the Cleveland Guardians, a storied Major League Baseball franchise with a loyal, engaged fanbase,” Blitzer said in a statement. “Our goal is to support Paul and the incredibly talented Guardians leadership team in delivering to Cleveland a team that can contend for a World Series. We also look forward to assisting the Guardians in their mission of using the platform of baseball to drive positive change in the communities our team serves. I thank Paul and the Dolan family, as well as our partners in this investment, for this amazing opportunity.”
Today, we welcome minority owner, David Blitzer, and his investment group to the Cleveland Guardians organization.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/HC4auATMHC
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 27, 2022
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MLB commissioner Rob Manfred first confirmed the deal on June 16 but didn’t mention Blitzer by name.
“We did approve a sale of a minority interest in the Guardians, pending the closing,” Manfred said via ESPN. “Really excited about the change there.”
“I am very excited about bringing on David Blitzer and his group as our partners,” Guardians owner, chairman, and CEO Paul Dolan said. “David brings a wealth of experience in the sports industry that we believe will be a complementary addition to our organization. I look forward to collaborating with David for years to come to achieve our goal of winning a World Series.”
The Guardians are currently controlled by Dolan and his majority portion of ownership, who has reportedly been looking for a minority owner in recent years.
Today marks an exciting milestone for our partnership with the @CleGuardians as we expand from our philanthropic relationship to become a local investor of the team within Blitzer’s investment group!
Press Release: https://t.co/55AQMt1BoZ pic.twitter.com/qwUgWDiRn3
— Matt Kaulig (@MattKaulig) June 27, 2022
Last season, Dolan mentioned having “meaningful discussions” with Blitzer about the franchise.
By purchasing part of the Guardians, Blitzer is now the first individual to own a stake in each of North America’s top five sports leagues.
Blitzer brings a wide variety of experience in professional sports to the Guardians. He owns a majority of MLS’s Real Salt Lake and is a shareholder in the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and multiple international soccer clubs.
Blitzer and Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith purchased Real Salt Lake in January.
New @realsaltlake owners/partners David Blitzer and Ryan Smith share their optimism for the vision and growth of soccer in Salt Lake City. pic.twitter.com/sirUziyBj2
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 6, 2022
The Guardians currently own a 36-32 record. Cleveland owns two titles in club history, with the last coming in 1948.
The franchise last played in the World Series in 2018. Cleveland rebranded following the 2021 season and is playing under the Guardians nickname for the first time this season.
