The owners of the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League are uncertain that the team will be back for the 2015 season.

John and Pam Gallo said Friday that they were looking for more investors to take some of the financial burden off running the team. If none surface, they aren’t sure they can continue to fund the team alone.

“When we first got into this whole thing three years ago, it was always with the intent we would find other investors, that we wouldn’t be the sole support of the team,” said John Gallo. “That never happened.”

Gallo said it takes about $150,000 each year to run the Raging Tide, the largest cost being transportation, which eats up about $28,000. Much of that is covered by ticket sales, sponsorships, merchandise and concession sales.

“Our goal has never been to make a profit here,” said John Gallo. “Our goal has been to bring baseball back and keep baseball at Old Orchard Beach. We hope to get to a point where the team can earn enough each year to support itself for the next year. If we can do that, we’ll be happy.”

But the Gallos, who moved to Maine three years ago from Maryland, are retired (John is 67, Pam 60) and never thought they would spend their retirement money or time running a baseball team. Both are at The Ballpark for every home game and both spend much of the winter trying to set up sponsorships and host families.

They want to remain involved with the Raging Tide – they are a host family – but would like someone to share the burden.

“They want to enjoy their retirement,” said Chris Hall, the commissioner of the FCBL. “We’re working with them to try to find the right people to help. And I think we will.”

The Raging Tide play their home games at The Ballpark, once the home to a Triple-A franchise – the Maine Guides – for four seasons. But after the Guides left, the stadium went unused for 15 years and fell into disarray. A group of volunteers started to work on the stadium about five years ago, hoping to return baseball to The Ballpark.

The Raging Tide arrived in the summer of 2011, playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. But the owners of that team pulled it out after one year. The Gallos, who bought season tickets that summer, offered to run the team when the FCBL awarded a franchise to Old Orchard.

“They needed someone to act as sort of a figurehead so we accepted,” said John Gallo. “We thought there would be seven to 10 investors, each with a few thousand dollars. We found out there were no other investors.”

The Gallos then made a decision that they didn’t want to lose the team, so they put up the money to keep it here.

Now they need help. Pam Gallo said the team would finish this season – the Raging Tide, who average about 300 fans a game, have two more home games – but couldn’t commit beyond that.

Sharri MacDonald, a state representative from Old Orchard and one of the original volunteers that worked at The Ballpark, hopes the Tide return.

“The Raging Tide are a significant asset to The Ballpark,” she said. “I’m hoping investors will come forward and help the Gallos to keep the team here.

“I have a list of 300 volunteers who brought that ballpark back to life. So regardless of what happens, we won’t give up. But the Tide is definitely a significant part of our community. You see Raging Tide hats all over the place.”

John Gallo said he needs to inform the league by Nov. 1 whether the team will return. Hall, noting the Gallos are among the most popular owners, said there’s plenty of time.

“We won’t rush things just to rush them,” said Hall. “We want to make sure we have the right people to be part of this.

“I think Old Orchard Beach has an opportunity to be successful. The business community and the town have to step up.”

 

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