Baseball Australia (BA) has secured 100% ownership of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) with former league partner, North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB), dropping out.
The new arrangement clears the path for BA to control the highest level of baseball in Australia.
Since the league’s inception in 2010, the ABL had operated as a joint venture between MLB and BA.
The MLB will continue its major presence in Australia after signing a three-year development agreement with BA, whereby they will support the local growth of the sport through investment in youth academies, grassroots initiatives and promotional activities.
The news comes on the same day as the International Olympic Committee reinstating baseball into the Olympics programme for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.
In the six years of ABL action, the league has claimed to achieve over $9.6 million in sponsorship revenue, double digit annual growth in match day ticket sales, a majority fanbase between the ages of 18-35 and the fastest growing grassroots baseball participation in the world.
Baseball Australia chief executive, Brett Pickett, commented, “MLB has been an incredible partner for over 20 years.”
“On behalf of everyone involved in Australian baseball, I thank MLB for all it has done for the game in our country. We could not have re-established the ABL without the support of MLB. Today represents a watershed moment whereby the Australian baseball community can take control of its own league within an environment of continued support by MLB for the development of baseball in Australia,” Pickett added.
“BA’s decision to acquire 100% ownership of the ABL would not have been achieved without the support of our member state and territory bodies who have been integrally involved throughout this entire process.”
The seventh ABL season begins on Thursday, November 17 2016.
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