Phil Castellini surprised that Opening Day tickets still unsold

[westofyou]

I'll be trying to travel to San Francisco in June to see the Reds play the Giants

My decision has absolutely nothing to do with what the Reds did in the off season and everything to do with watching baseball live with my friends.

Bob of course will get a cut of that, but that's life and I have no control over that

[Bourgeois Zee]

Bob of course will get a cut of that, but that's life and I have no control over that

Semantic point: Well, yeah, you do.

That's kinda the whole thought process for those who are choosing not to give Castellini their cash.

Your mileage varies, of course, and that's cool. It takes all kinds to make this blue marble go 'round. But you have the choice to add to his coffers or not.

[westofyou]

Semantic point: Well, yeah, you do.

That's kinda the whole thought process for those who are choosing not to give Castellini their cash.

Your mileage varies, of course, and that's cool. It takes all kinds to make this blue marble go 'round. But you have the choice to add to his coffers or not.

Perhaps, but I'm not giving up baseball to piss in the wind and get my legs all wet over Bob Castellini's ownership of the Reds

[Sea Ray]

It also assumes that we can't figure out that their expenses were less in 2020 too.

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They are just so bad at Public Relations and should hire someone new to handle that.

Isn't that Phil's job? Nepotism

[LeatherPants]

Isn't that Phil's job? Nepotism

He's the Fredo of the family, they need a Michael.

[LeatherPants]

He's the Fredo of the family, they need a Michael.

To take this further, they need to hire a Clemenza and let him run things. Michael can stay out of the family business, like he always wanted, and Fredo can just drive the Don around.

[LeatherPants]

To take this further, they need to hire a Clemenza and let him run things. Michael can stay out of the family business, like he always wanted, and Fredo can just drive the Don around.

No wait, Clemenza is Krall. Tessio was always the smart one, HE needs to run things.

There. Now that's figured out.

[Sea Ray]

Perhaps, but I'm not giving up baseball to piss in the wind and get my legs all wet over Bob Castellini's ownership of the Reds

I agree. Why should you give up a joy of life because of an idiot? If it's really a big deal to not give an owner money, buy your ticket from somewhere other than directly from the team.

[bucksfan2]

Perhaps, but I'm not giving up baseball to piss in the wind and get my legs all wet over Bob Castellini's ownership of the Reds

Never understood people who allow someone else to effect their happiness. I will watch the Reds because I enjoy watching the Reds. I will go to games with my family because my girls want to go to the games. I will buy overpriced beer because I want to drink beer and watch a baseball game.

Owners are going to get their money whether or not I decide to go to a game.

[Chip R]

$40 million in loss revenue doesn't mean $40 million in losses, but I'm sure the usual suspects will disagree.

That reminds me of a story about the Dodgers and at the end of the 1964 season Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi ran into owner Walter O’Malley. “Good year, considering we weren’t in the pennant race!” Bavasi said.

O’Malley growled, “The hell it was! We lost $2M!”

Bavasi nearly passed out. The Dodgers LOST money? $2M? Bavasi staggered into the office of VP Fresco Thompson and started talking about firings and bankruptcy and Thompson just began to laugh at him.

“You’re an idiot, Buzzy. The Old Man means that last year we made $6M. This year we only made $4M. In his mind that means ‘we lost $2M'"

[westofyou]

Never understood people who allow someone else to effect their happiness. I will watch the Reds because I enjoy watching the Reds. I will go to games with my family because my girls want to go to the games. I will buy overpriced beer because I want to drink beer and watch a baseball game.

Owners are going to get their money whether or not I decide to go to a game.

I was not (and still am not) a Marge fan, I didn't stop going then either.

Here's the Reds biggest problem ownership wise, there are too many cooks in the kitchen and most of them are in the business of making a lot of money.

• W. Joseph Williams Jr., the chairman of Cincinnati-based North American Properties, a developer and operator of a range of real estate projects across the nation. He is chairman of the Reds. Williams’ late father, W. Joseph Williams Sr., was a former owner of the Reds; the son is a former investor in both the Baltimore Orioles and the St. Louis Cardinals. Williams’ son, Dick, worked for the Reds for 15 years but stepped down as the head of baseball operations in 2020; he now works at North American Properties.

• Thomas L. Williams, the president and CEO of North American Properties and W. Joseph Williams Jr.’s brother. He is one of the principal owners of Skyline Chili, purchasing it in 2020 to ensure the iconic local brand remained in local ownership. He is vice chairman of the Reds.

• Lindner Reds Baseball IV LLC. The company, registered in Colorado, was created in the fall of 2005, ahead of the late Carl H. Lindner Jr. selling his controlling interest in the team to the group led by Castellini.

• Frank Cohen, senior managing director of core and real estate group at Blackstone, a publicly-traded company that calls itself the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Cohen is a fourth-generation Cincinnatian and graduate of Cincinnati's exclusive Seven Hills School. In 2014, he purchased a minority interest in the team previously held by the Louise Dieterle Nippert Trust. A source with knowledge of the deal told The Enquirer Cohen acquired a less than 5 percent stake in the team. Nippert's late husband, Louis, was principal Reds owner from 1973-80, during which time the team won two world titles.

• William J. Reik, who has owned a share of the Reds under various ownership groups going back more than 30 years. Reik is a former managing director of William D. Witter Inc. investment firm who later ran his own firm. He is married to the ex-wife of former Reds general manager Jim Bowden.

• Buy Buy Baseball LLC, now controlled by the heirs of the late Broadway producer Rick Steiner, who lived in Cincinnati's North Avondale neighborhood. Steiner, who died in 2016, had a string of critical and commercial successes on Broadway, including "The Producers, "Jersey Boys" and "Hairspray".

• EMK Investment Co. LLC.

• Larry Sheakley, who bought Springdale-based Sheakley Group from his father in 1980 and turned the provider of human resources into a company with $700 million in 2020 revenue and nearly 13,000 employees nationwide. He also is an owner of FC Cincinnati and is a major supporter of the University of Cincinnati and various local arts organizations.

• Jeffrey L. Wyler, the leader of a group of auto dealerships that had more than $1.3 billion in 2020 and ranked in 2021 as the seventh-largest privately-held company in the Cincinnati region.

• Harry Fath, who once owned Fath Properties, which has apartments in Ohio, Kentucky and Texas. Fath and his wife made news in 2021 by donating $50 million to suburban Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School, of which he is an alumnus. In 2018, they gave $50 million to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

• Jeffrey L. Gendell, CEO of IES Holdings, a Houston-based designer and installer of integrated electrical and technology systems along with providing infrastructure products and services. Gendell, a baseball fan who is a Wyoming High School graduate, also is the founder and CEO of Tontine Associates, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund.

• Edwin J. Rigaud/AACE. Rigaud is a serial entrepreneur who is a former Procter & Gamble executive, becoming one of the first Black research executives and the first Black vice president for the multinational company. The New Orleans native later was the first executive director of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. AACE is a group of Black investors in the Reds, created in 2005 when ownership of the team was being prepared for sale to the Castellini group. Its members include Carl Satterwhite, the owner of River City Furniture and another former P&G executive, as well as Dr. Alvin Crawford, a retired orthopedic surgeon at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and his wife, Jean.

• HKR Baseball LLC.

• Ronald L. Sargent, a native of Fort Thomas in Northern Kentucky and a former chairman of Staples, the office supply store. He currently is the chairman of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. A former Kroger employee, he has served on the company's board since 2006. He also is on the boards of Wells Fargo and Five Below.

• John H. Wyant. Wyant, a Hamilton native, is a former P&G executive who later ran broadcasting and venture capital firms. He and his wife, Peg, are part-owners of FC Cincinnati.

• George H. Vincent/Queen City Diamond LLC. VIncent has been the managing partner of the downtown law firm Dinsmore & Shohl since 2007 and led it during a period of significant growth. The former Hamilton County GOP chairman and current Cincinnati State Technical and Community College chairman has guided Dinsmore, which has more than 700 lawyers, onto the National Law Journal 250 list of America's biggest law firms. Queen City Diamond is a group of investors that Vincent put together. Dinsmore is the Reds' law firm, helping guide Castellini in his purchase of the team.

• Heading for Home LLC.

• Art Hauser. The former Xavier University star, who later played in the NFL and AFL, eventually returned to Cincinnati (the hometown of his wife) after his playing days. He opened an insurance agency, which he sold to his son, Chris, in 1996.

[HammerTime]

Reds Not For Sale:
Absolutely Zero Chance says Phil Castellini Team President

Bobby Nightengale @nightengalejr

The Reds cut payroll for the second consecutive offseason, but Phil Castellini says there’s absolutely no thoughts of his family selling the team.

More on the cost cutting as the Reds say they took a $40M loss in 2020.
Story with @alexcoolidge cincinnati.com

I just flat out do not believe they were negative $40M in 2020. They may have "lost" $40M in revenue.

[cumberlandreds]

I just flat out do not believe they were negative $40M in 2020. They may have "lost" $40M in revenue.

Yep, Instead of making $200 million they made $160 million. Hence go back to the Walter O'Malley statement in Chip's post. These guys ain't losing money.

[westofyou]

No wait, Clemenza is Krall. Tessio was always the smart one, HE needs to run things.

There. Now that's figured out.

Clemenza had bigger balls, he was ready to ace a cop over a rug and Tessio cowered to the Don in the theater in front of Vito

[LeatherPants]

Yep, Instead of making $200 million they made $160 million. Hence go back to the Walter O'Malley statement in Chip's post. These guys ain't losing money.

Someone on twitter (I know it's a cesspool) brought up a good point, because wasn't the BAM-tech payment in 2020? Because that's $70 million or so that every team received that year that, for whatever reason, doesn't count as "revenue". More than enough to make up for any loss in revenue.