Royals Sign Four Year Agreement With Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League

Kansas City, MO (September 20, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals have signed a four-year player development contract (PDC) through the 2016 season with the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League.  The Royals spent the 2011-2012 campaigns with the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League.

“The Kansas City Royals are extremely pleased to announce that we have partnered with the Lexington Legends on a Player Development Contract,” said Royals Director of Minor League Operations Scott Sharp.  “We have long coveted the South Atlantic League as one of the best leagues in baseball for developing young players.  The fact that we get the chance to join the league in one of the finest facilities with a strong ownership group and front office staff is a tremendous bonus.  We look forward to the new relationship and making new Royals fans in the great state of Kentucky.”

“I have had the fortunate experience of getting to work with the Kansas City Royals the past five seasons through our ownership stake in the Omaha club,” said Lexington Legends President/COO Andy Shea.  “Every single occasion has been the ultimate professional encounter.  This is a fantastic fit for Lexington, Whitaker Bank Ballpark, and the Lexington Legends.  We look forward to being a part of the Royals continued dedication to the minor league system and the growth of both clubs.”

The Lexington Legends are located in Lexington, Kentucky.  Lexington had been affiliated with the Houston Astros since their inaugural 2001 season.  The Legends play their home games at Whitaker Bank Ballpark (capacity 6,006).

Lexington won their first and only South Atlantic League Championship in their first season of 2001, named co-champs after the season was ended due to the tragic events of September 11.  The club has been in the top four in attendance in the South Atlantic League in each of its 12 seasons.

Lexington marks a return to the South Atlantic League for Kansas City, who had an affiliate in Charleston (SC) from 1980-1984 and in Charleston (WV) from 1999-2000.

St. Louis Cardinals renew affiliation with Memphis
Memphis will be Cardinals Triple-A affiliate through 2014 season

MEMPHIS, TN – The World Champion St. Louis Cardinals have extended their player development contract with the Memphis Redbirds through the completion of the 2014 season.

“We are very pleased to have extended our relationship with the Redbirds organization and the city of Memphis for an additional two years,” said John Mozeliak, Cardinals’ Senior Vice President and General Manager.  “The Redbirds ballclub and the Memphis fans have been tremendous supporters of the Cardinals organization for many years.  AutoZone Park is considered to be among the finest ballparks in the country and we feel that there is no better place to develop Cardinals players who are one level away from reaching St. Louis and the Major Leagues.”

Memphis has been the Triple-A affiliate for the Cardinals since their inception in 1998. In that time, Memphis has been Pacific Coast League Champions twice (2000, 2009). They began playing at their current home, AutoZone Park, in 2000. 32 members of the current Cardinals 40-man roster have spent significant time playing for the Memphis Redbirds in their career.

“We are excited to extend the affiliation agreement with the St. Louis Cardinals. Memphis has been and always will be Cardinals Country,” said John Pontius, Memphis Redbirds Foundation Treasurer. “We look forward to continue watching the future stars of the franchise come through AutoZone Park before their Major League careers begin.”

The Redbirds start their 2013 campaign on Thursday, April 4^th at AutoZone Park.

Global Spectrum (global-spectrum.com) manages the Memphis Redbirds, as well as nearly 100 other public assembly facilities around the world. Nearly 20-million people attended more than 11,000 events in Global Spectrum venues last year. Based in Philadelphia, PA, Global Spectrum is part of Comcast-Spectacor, one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment companies. Comcast-Spectacor also owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage services provider, New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing product for public assembly facilities, Paciolan, the leading provider of venue establishment ticketing, fundraising and marketing technology solutions, Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company, and Flyers Skate Zone, a series of community ice skating rinks. In a partnership with Disson Skating, Comcast-Spectacor annually produces eight nationally televised figure skating spectaculars on NBC-TV.

Royals Renew Player Development Contract With Omaha Through 2016

KANSAS CITY, MO (June 19, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has extended its Player Development Contract (PDC) with Omaha through the 2016 season.

Triple-A Omaha, an affiliate from the inception of the two franchises in 1969, won the 2011 Pacific Coast League Championship after compiling a 79-63 regular season record.  Omaha is currently in first place in the PCL’s American North Division with a 44-27 mark on the season.  The Storm Chasers announced their new ownership group, Alliance Baseball Omaha LLC, on Tuesday.

“Omaha has an outstanding new facility and a great management team in place,” said Scott Sharp, Royals Director of Minor League Operations.  “The club announced new ownership partners today, making this a perfect time for the Royals to show our continued commitment to the Omaha area.”

“Having been affiliated with Kansas City since 1969, there was never a question of if we were going to extend the PDC, but when,” said Omaha President and General Manager Martie Cordaro.  “In my 14 years of Minor League Baseball, I have never personally experienced such a great relationship with a Major League affiliate. We are excited to extend our partnership with the Royals.”

ROYALS EXTEND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT WITH NORTHWEST ARKANSAS THROUGH 2016

KANSAS CITY, MO (April 11, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has extended its Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals through the 2016 season.

“We are very fortunate to have such a great facility for our Double-A team so close to our Major League home,” Royals Director of Minor League Operations Scott Sharp said.  “We attempt to put our players in big league atmospheres before they arrive in Kansas City and Northwest Arkansas allows us to do that every night.  Our partnership has been tremendous and the only reason the extension is not for longer is because of minor league baseball restrictions limiting deals of this kind to a maximum of four years.”

“We are extremely proud to continue our player development contract with the Kansas City Royals,” said Eric Edelstein, Naturals General Manager. “We have seen the Royals commitment to a world class player development system which extends beyond the field into the front office and the communities we both serve.”

Double-A Northwest Arkansas, an affiliate since 2008, has made the playoffs in each of its first four seasons, including capturing the Texas League championship in 2010.  A member of the Texas League North Division, the Naturals play their home games at Arvest Park (capacity 6,500) in Springdale, Ark.