North Carolina Sports Franchise For Sale
A North Carolina sports franchise is for sale, unfortunately, it’s not the ones fans want to see get a new owner. No North Carolinians, David Tepper has not caved to…
A North Carolina sports franchise is for sale, unfortunately, it's not the ones fans want to see get a new owner. No North Carolinians, David Tepper has not caved to peer pressure and agreed to sell the Carolina Panthers. One can only dream of that day though. Instead the owner of the Charlotte Knights, the city's minor league baseball team affiliated with the Chicago White Sox, has announced his intent to sell the team.
The Charlotte Knights have been owned by Hickory businessman Don Beaver since 1997. Beaver is currently 83 years old. The Charlotte Knights relocated to uptown Charlotte several years ago from their previous home just south of the North Carolina border. The uptown stadium Truist Field, is one of the premier minor league baseball stadiums in the country. The new ballpark and prime location accounted for a resurgence of popularity for the team.
In addition to the Charlotte Knights, the stadium hosts several collegiate matchups each season, the holiday Light The Nights event, and this coming weekend is hosting an outdoor hockey game for the Charlotte Checkers. Charlotte Business Journal estimated the team could draw a price tag of around $100,000,000. This number is based on other comparable transactions in the sports world.
Charlotte Business Journal also reports that while offers are being accepted, Beaver is not going to sell immediately just to sell. When the offer is right he will move forward. For the sake of ever Charlottean let's just hope that David Tepper is not interested. And while I don't expect it I hope soon we are reporting on another North Carolina sports franchise being for sale. One can dream right?
Do You Know Every North Carolina Minor League Baseball Team?
Baseball is widely regarded as America's pastime. Without a major league team closer than Atlanta or DC minor league baseball takes the stage in North Carolina. So it's a good thing that we have plenty of North Carolina minor league baseball teams to be a fan of! It can seem like there are so many teams that it's hard to make sense of what they all mean. It seems like every town has a baseball team. Are they all the same level?
The short answer is no. Minor league baseball is made up of several different levels. These are used for player development and getting players ready to hopefully one day compete in the "big leagues". Each major league team has 4 minor league teams affiliated with them for a total of 120 teams in the country. Additionally, there are other independent baseball leagues that players can play in and fans can take in games.
Minor league baseball can be a fun and relatively inexpensive outing for families and friend groups alike. Most tickets are very affordable with fun promotions as well as food and drink specials. North Carolina is home to 10 official minor league teams in the triple A, high A, and single A levels. We also have 5 independent baseball teams. Keep reading to learn a little about each of the teams, where they are located, their major league affiliate, and their level!
Triple A Teams
Triple-A is the level just under the major leagues. These players are often good enough to play in the major leagues but there just isn't space on them on the roster. They can easily be called up due to injury or other situations. North Carolina has 2 Triple-A teams.
Charlotte Knights
Major League Team: Chicago White Sox
Location: Charlotte, NC
Durham Bulls
Major League Team: Tampa Bay Rays
Location: Durham, NC
High A Teams
High-A formerly known as Class A-Advanced the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball. North Carolina has four High A Teams.
Asheville Tourists
Major League Team: Houston Astros
Location: Asheville, NC
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Major League Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Location: Greensboro, NC
Hickory Crawdads
Major League Team: Texas Rangers
Location: Hickory, NC
Winston-Salem Dash
Major League Team: Chicago White Sox
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Single A Teams
Single A or Class A is is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball. North Carolina has 4 single A teams.
Carolina Mudcats
Major League Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Location: Zebulon, NC
Down East Wood Ducks
Major League Team: Texas Rangers
Location: Kinston, NC
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
Major League Team: Houston Astros
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Formerly Intimidators)
Major League Team: Chicago White Sox
Location: Kannapolis, NC
Independent League Baseball Teams
North Carolina is also home to 5 teams that play in independent baseball leagues that are not part of Major League Baseball.
Burlington Sock Puppets
League: Appalachian League
Location: Burlington, NC
Gastonia Honey Hunters
League: Atlantic League
Location: Gastonia, NC
High Point Rockers
League: Atlantic League
Location: High Point, NC
High Point Thomasville HiToms
League: Coastal Plain League
Location: Thomasville, NC
Wilson Tobs
League: Coastal Plain League
Location: Wilson, NC
