18 October 2023
The Norfolk Tides, the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, are being sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns more than 20 minor league baseball teams, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed Tuesday.
The ownership change puts the team in no danger of leaving the market, the sources said.
The Tides are owned by a group led by longtime food service executive Ken Young, who spearheaded the team’s purchase in the early 1990s.
Norfolk is operating under a player development contract that runs through 2030. The club signed a two-year extension to its Harbor Park lease with the city that runs through the 2024 season and is expected to be extended long-term in the near future.
Last month, the Tides won their first International League title since 1985. They followed that by winning the Triple-A National Championship Game in Las Vegas.
Norfolk’s roster this season included several of the Orioles’ most highly regarded prospects, including 19-year-old shortstop Jackson Holliday, the top-ranked prospect in all of baseball.
Diamond Baseball Holdings, founded in 2021 by media conglomerate Endeavor, owns teams from the Low-A level to Triple-A, including Gwinnett, Memphis, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and St. Paul of the IL.
This story will be updated.
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